The UK has reported 90 coronavirus cases. Here's what we know about how the virus is spreading across Britain.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sought to play down the threat of the crisis.

"We need to strike a balance," Johnson told ITV's Good Morning programme on Thursday, adding that there was no need to consider school closures at this stage.

"Slightly counter-intuitively, closing schools and stopping big gatherings doesn't work as well as people think," he told the programme.

He added: "As far as possible it should be business as usual for the vast majority of people."

The government has mostly stopped trying to "contain" the virus and is instead focusing on trying to delay its spread, the chief medical officer said on Thursday.

He said containing the spread of the virus among the early few patients who caught it was now "extraordinar[ily] unlikely" long-term outcome, and said the government was now focused on trying to delay the outbreak until the spring.

Whitty said that approach — which overlaps in many ways with "contain" — had several benefits. Those include delaying the peak until the NHS is in a better position to respond, and buying more time so that the disease can be better managed, possibly with the aid of new drugs.

Additionally, there may be a benefit to delaying the outbreak until the spring or summer, when the rate of infection may go down, as is the case with flu.

The government's action plan, which was published on Thursday, outlines a number of measures that might be introduced if there is a major outbreak. Ministers will make a decision as to which actions they introduce based on scientific advice, and

As well as potential school closures, these include:

• Closure of mass gatherings, such as Royal Ascot and Glastonbury Festival, as well as football matches
• The army being drafted in to support the emergency services
• Asking employees across the country to work from home, possibly for around 12 weeks
• Expanding its public information campaign, which encourages people to wash their hands regularly with warm water.

• England's Six Nations rugby games against Italy in Rome on 14 and 15 March will likely be postponed as a response to the outbreak.
• Italy, where more than 3,000 cases have been reported, has confirmed it will shut all schools from Thursday for 10 days.
• All professional sport in Italy will be played behind closed doors for a month.
• Switzerland reported its first death from the disease after a 74-year-old woman died in hospital.
• UK airline Flybe went into administration, claiming coronavirus was partly to blame.

According to NHS England, the best way to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus is to:

• wash your hands with soap and water often, for at least 20 seconds
• always wash your hands when you get home or into work
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
• try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
• avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean

The symptoms of coronavirus are:

• a cough
• a high temperature
• a shortness of breath

These symptoms do not mean a patient has the illness, however, as they are similar to more common diseases such as cold and flu.