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The UK has reported 116 coronavirus cases and 1 death. Here's what we know about how the virus is spreading across Britain.

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  • The UK has reported 116 cases of coronavirus and one fatality as of Friday morning.
  • The UK's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty reported on Thursday that an elderly woman with underlying health conditions had died after contracting the virus.
  • The UK's Chief Scientific Adviser said coronavirus outbreaks may become an annual event with little chance of a vaccine being created this year.
  • Parliamentary authorities are considering closing for up to five months amid fears that Members of Parliament could become "super-spreaders."
  • Funeral companies have announced plans to live-stream services if the epidemic takes hold
  • Officials are considering plans to order the public to work at home for at least three months.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The UK has reported a total of 116 cases of the coronavirus, with the country's chief medical officer Chris Whitty confirming on Thursday the first case of a patient dying in the UK after contracting the virus.

Whitty said the woman, who died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, England, was an older patient with underlying health conditions.

The news came after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved the country towards seeking to delay, rather than contain the onset of a full epidemic.

The coronavirus causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19. More than 3,200 people have died and more than 94,000 others have been infected across the world, about 85% of whom are in China. Cases have been recorded in at least 80 countries.

The UK is seeing a rising number of cases of "community spread" — those patients had no known exposure to the virus or travel history to countries where outbreaks have been reported.

For the latest case total, death toll, and travel information, see Business Insider's live updates here.

There is little chance of a Coronavirus vaccine appearing this year

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The UK's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme on Friday that the current coronavirus outbreak could become a permanent annual outbreak.

Vallance said that attempts to create a vaccine would not be successful in time to contain this year's outbreak.

"I don't think we will get a vaccine for this outbreak," he said.

"I don't think we'll get something in time and at scale for this outbreak. That said, there have been remarkable changes in the ability to make vaccines and discover vaccines just in the last few years. Things have progressed much more quickly than they would have done in the past, and it's not unreasonable to assume that we will end up with a vaccine and we may do so in a year or 18 months."



British people with flu-like symptoms will be told to stay at home

Reuters

UK citizens experiencing flu-like symptoms are set to be told to stay at home, even if they haven't travelled to countries heavily affected by the coronavirus, the Times of London newspaper reported on Friday.

Other measures, including plans to ban mass gatherings and advise workers to stay at home, are being held in reserve.

"You've got a range of things that you can do to arrest or check the spread of a disease," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday. "But you can't fire your shots too early."



Funerals could be live streamed if coronavirus escalates

Danny Martindale/Getty Images

Funerals could be affected by any ban on large public gatherings, it was reported on Thursday.

The National Association of Funeral Directors told Sky News that it had spoken to Johnson's government about the steps it could take if coronavirus becomes a severe pandemic in the UK.

One option would be to live stream funerals, the group said.

"As well as supporting the government and local authorities in managing the impact of the additional deaths, funeral directors would be focused on helping families who lose a loved one during that time in finding meaningful ways to say goodbye — even if the funeral they would have preferred isn't possible.

"One option might include the webcasting of funeral services, as many crematoria now have these facilities - or holding a separate memorial service at a later date."




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