Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, the medical chief claimed that as the UK has a “single command mechanism” to deal with epidemic and pandemic crises, the NHS will be more prepared than Italy’s health system to consistently cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Ms Harries explained the Italian health services are regionalised so it took some time before every region acted consistently to contain the epidemic. 

She said: “Italy clearly has a very good health system but I think I actually heard one of the advisers on the radio today noticing the lessons for other countries to learn.

“One of those was the fact that their health services are regionalised and it took them a little while to get the consistency.

“What the UK has in conditions like this, we have a single command and control mechanism which runs right through from government to all of our services across the countries and indeed in this situation all of the four UK nations are working consistently to get there and all the UK chief medical officers are working on a daily basis to get there.

“So it’s a very different scenario.”

On Monday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the whole country will be placed into lockdown as the European nation struggles to handle the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The Italian leader has extended his Government’s restrictive measures of its “red zone” to the entire country as it struggles to contain the deadly coronavirus.

Around 16 million people have already been placed under quarantine in Italy as it tries to stop the spread of Covid-19.

But, on Monday, the country announced it had reached over 9,000 confirmed cases, with another 97 deaths, taking the death toll to 463.

Foreign Minister Di Maio announced on Monday evening the expansion of restrictive lockdown measures for the whole of Italy.

Mr Maio said just “like Lombardy” the country will “implement strict rules” expected for each region.

Prime Minister Conte said the country would be adopting even tougher measures to combat coronavirus.

He added that people should not move other than for work and emergencies, and said there will no longer be a “red zone” as the whole country was under the same conditions.

The Italian Prime Minister also announced a ban on gatherings in public places or outdoors due to coronavirus.

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The new measures will be in effect from Tuesday morning, with the Prime Minister signing a decree immediately.

It comes after restrictions were put in place for anybody living in Lombardy and 14 other central and northern provinces needing special permission to travel. Milan and Venice were both affected.

However, on the first business day, since the government placed the north of the country under lockdown, there was confusion among citizens.

Streets in Milan, Italy’s financial hub and the main city in Lombardy, were unseasonably quiet.

Checkpoints were also set up at the city’s main train station to screen travellers.

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