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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the coronavirus is the government’s “top priority” and defended the decision not to repatriate people from quarantined cruise ship the Diamond Princess sooner.
He said the government had been following the “best medical advice” as he tried to reassure people that the NHS was making “every possible preparation”.
His comments come after a British man who was on board the cruise ship died from the disease.
Mr Johnson said: “We were following the best medical advice. We very much regret the loss of life of the individual concerned but we think that the best thing to do is not to move people around too much in the current situation.
“Not to repatriate unless you can be absolutely sure there is not going to be a spread or contagion to this country – that’s the principle we are adopting.”
The PM is due to chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee on Monday in response to a growing number of cases in Europe.
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How does this week’s FTSE 100 fall compare to other drops?
Copyright: BBCAlthough UK shares have lost almost 13% of their value, this is not the worst week for the FTSE 100.
This chart shows how the latest FTSE 100 plunge compares to other drops since 2000.
