- The UK has reported 87 cases of the coronavirus after the biggest daily increase to date.
- The UK's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty says an epidemic in the country is now "highly likely."
- Parliament could close for up to 5 months amid fears that Members of Parliament could become "super-spreaders."
- Officials are considering plans to order the public to work at home for at least 3 months.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The UK has reported a total of 90 cases of the coronavirus, with the country's chief medical officer Chris Whitty predicting that an epidemic in the country is now highly likely.
The latest figures come after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson released his action plan for dealing with the crisis.
The UK government's action plan has four stages: contain, delay, research, and mitigate. The UK has now entered stage two.
The action plan, released by the UK government on Tuesday, states that: "Action that would be considered could include population distancing strategies (such as school closures, encouraging greater home working, reducing the number of large scale gatherings) to slow the spread of disease throughout the population."
The coronavirus causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19. More than 3,200 people have died and more than 94,000 others have been infected across the world, about 85% of whom are in China. Cases have been recorded in at least 80 countries.
The UK is seeing a rising number of cases of "community spread" - those patients had no known exposure to the virus or travel history to countries where outbreaks have been reported.
For the latest case total, death toll, and travel information, see Business Insider's live updates here.
Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join here.