The royal couple are set to embark on a 10 day overseas tour next week, which will take in visits to Bosnia, Cyprus, and Jordan. All countries have reported cases of COVID-19, but this has not deterred the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall in any way. A Clarence House spokesman said the royals would continue to monitor the situation and consult with the Government.

He said: “We are following Government advice.”

Downing Street officials are devising plans on how best to protect the Royal Family during this unprecedented epidemic that look site to become a pandemic.

It is understood that the Queen is keen to push ahead with her garden parties in May, when the virus is expected to peak.

Earlier on Monday, the UK’s Chief Medical officer, Professor Charles Whitty said that people with mild fevers could be asked to self-isolate within the next two weeks.

The expectation is that numbers of infected people are likely to rise steeply in the coming weeks.

Professor Whitty told reporters at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister: “We are expecting the numbers to increase, initially slowly, but really quite fast after a while.

“We have to catch it before the upswing begins.

“We are now very close to the time, probably within the next 10 to 14 days, when the modelling would imply we should move to a situation where we say everybody who has even a minor respiratory tract infection or a fever should be self-isolating for 7 days afterwards.”

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He added: “This is going to be the next step.

“We have not reached that step, but we are going to be reaching that step in the really quite near future.”

The number of confirmed cases in the UK currently stands at 319, with a total of five deaths.

London has seen the largest number of reported cases with 61, followed by the South east with 43.

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Other coronavirus hotspots include the North-west and the South-west.

The Government’s plans to combat contagion have come under closer scrutiny, with critics accusing Boris Johnson of being complacent and taking half-hearted measures.

Rory Stewart, the former Conservative cabinet minister and independent London mayoral candidate said: “The Government has made a serious mistake today.

“They should be acting much more aggressively to contain coronavirus. Schools should be shut now.”

However, Mr Johnson justified his Government’s approach to the crisis, arguing that it was counterproductive to take measures that were of little medical benefit.

The Prime Minister received support from the Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser.

He argued that emergency steps taken by the Italian Government, which have included banning flights from affected areas and banning mass gatherings, were relatively ineffective.

Sir Patrick said: “We need to understand where we are in the epidemic and make sure that we take the actions that need to be taken at the right time.

He added that the Government’s aim was to lower the mortality rate of those in the at-risk group by 20 to 30 per cent.

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