British PM: the UK is Only Weeks behind Italy

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson alerted the British public on Sunday that the outpouring of coronavirus cases over the next two weeks could cripple the country's National Health Service (NHS), Reuters reports.

Johnson said the UK, in terms of cases, is only "a matter of weeks — two or three — behind Italy," which passed China last week as the country with the most reported deaths from the virus.

“The Italians have a superb healthcare system. And yet their doctors and nurses have been completely overwhelmed by the demand,” Johnson confirmed.

NBC reports that the outpouring of cases in northern Italy has brutally overwrought the country's healthcare system.

As of Sunday morning, the UK had reported 5,067 cases and 234 deaths from the virus, while Italy has reported more than 53,500 cases and 4,825 deaths.

“Unless we act together, unless we make the heroic and collective national effort to slow the spread — then it is all too likely that our own NHS will be similarly overwhelmed. […] The numbers are very stark, and they are accelerating," said PM Johnson. 

He advised the public to stay away from their parents, even though it is Mother's Day in Britain. “The single best present that we can give is to spare them the risk of catching a very dangerous disease," added the PM.

The UK government has also advised 1.5 million people recognized by the NHS as ‘high-risk patients’ not to leave their households.

By B.Alexishvili