Coronavirus has infected 163 people and killed two in the UK has been compared to a “war” by Dr Richard Hatchett, who advised the Bush and Obama White Houses. The doctor who is working towards the creation of a vaccine warned the disruptive qualities of the virus haven’t been seen since the Spanish Flu in 1918. He went on to suggest the deadly virus could have been circulating for weeks in the UK without anyone knowing.

Speaking to Channel 4 news, Dr Hatchett said: “I think the threat is very significant.

“The potential of the virus is demonstrated in china and demonstrated in Italy and Iran. There were three cases in Italy two weeks ago – yesterday there were over 3,000.

“This is the most frightening disease I’ve ever encountered in my career, and that includes Ebola, it includes MERS and it includes SARS.”

Speaking about how China has responded to the outbreak, he said: “It is like they are at war with the virus – all of society is mobilised in the fight against the virus.”

On the UK’s fight to halt the spread, he added: “We have to recognise the virus is here and it has tremendous potential to be disruptive and to cause high rates of illness or even death – but that is not a future that is locked in.

“Contact tracing is very imp – voluntary quarantine of contacts and isolation of cases is very imp – there may be a time to close schools.

“We know that schools are amplification points in society – attack rates are much higher in children and the elderly.

“Children have been minimally affected by COVID-19 whats unclear is whether they have been infected and handled the infections well or maybe they are not being affected.”

Dr Hatchett suggested the virus may have been in the UK for weeks before it was detected.

He added: “If you look at places where death has occurred – England now falls into that category – a death signifies circulation of the virus that has been going on for at least weeks.

“It takes time for people to get sick, go to the hospital and expire – the virus has been circulating here for some time.

“I think the most concerning thing is the combination of infectiousness and the ability to cause disease and death.

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“Not since 1918, the Spanish flu – have we seen a virus combining these qualities in this way.

“What happens with this virus is up to us – I do think this has the potential to cause a global pandemic.”

He added: “We need to start thinking of the social risk- we need to all think about our responsibility to each other.

“We can’t view the epidemic in terms of our person risk- we need to act collectively.”

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