The Papers: Coronavirus \'action plan\' and \'mass testing\' in UK

Newspaper headlines: Coronavirus 'action plan' and 'mass testing' in UK

By BBC News Staff
The Times
Image caption Wednesday's front pages focus on the accelerated spread of the coronavirus across Europe, after several countries confirmed their first cases and the death toll in Italy rose on Tuesday to 11. The Times lead says ministers are now finalising contingency plans for the UK, which it says include the closure of schools, restricting movement around the country and quarantining families. It adds that people with severe coughs and fevers will be tested in GP surgeries even if they have not travelled abroad.
The Daily Telegraph
Image caption The Daily Telegraph also includes details of "mass testing" in the UK, reporting that thousands of Britons will be tested for the virus by GPs under a new "surveillance" system by Public Health England. It says 600 patients a week will be tested for the virus, with the scheme involving around 100 GP surgeries and 11 hospitals.
The Guardian
Image caption The Guardian reports there was growing confusion on Tuesday over the government's advice on whether it is safe to travel to northern Italy - with the health secretary and UK's chief medical officer expressing conflicting views. The Foreign Office has since advised against all but essential travel to 11 northern Italian towns.
Daily Mail
Image caption "Virus Panic Hits Schools", declares the Daily Mail after schoolchildren returning to the UK from holidays in northern Italy were sent home following new government health advice on the coronavirus. The paper says staff and pupils from 18 schools were sent home on Tuesday. The newspaper adds that UK officials are considering closing schools and transport networks in the event of a global pandemic.
i newspaper
Image caption The i newspaper also outlines the UK's plan if the coronavirus becomes a pandemic, adding that the Ireland v Italy Six Nations rugby match is in doubt due to the crisis.
Daily Mirror
Image caption The Daily Mirror splashes with a full-page image of guests confined to their rooms at a hotel in Tenerife. The move comes after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for the coronavirus. Hundreds of guests are trapped inside.
Daily Express
Image caption The Daily Express adds that Britons are among the guests trapped in their rooms as UK travel firms use the seafront hotel. The paper calls it the "holiday from hell".
Daily Star
Image caption The Daily Star also leads with a picture of the Tenerife hotel, emblazoned with the words: "Wish We Weren't Here!"
Financial Times
Image caption Elsewhere, the Financial Times reports Chancellor Rishi Sunak will delay Budget decisions on tax, spending and borrowing until the autumn due to growth forecast downgrades and the coronavirus. It says Mr Sunak's first Budget on 11 March will be the first instalment in a "trilogy" of statements this year. The Budget is expected to include specific promises from the Conservative manifesto, such as a pledge to scrap a cut in to the corporation tax to 17%.

According to the Daily Telegraph, mass surveillance will be introduced as Britain ramps up its response to the growing threat of the new coronavirus.

It says thousands of Britons will be tested for coronavirus by GPs, amid fears that the explosion of cases in Europe means there could already be far more cases in this country than have been identified.

The Times says health authorities in the UK are drawing up plans to test hundreds more people with severe coughs and fevers in case they have the disease.

The Guardian highlights what it says was "growing confusion" in the UK after Health Secretary Matt Hancock and the chief medical officer for England expressed different advice for people intending to travel to northern Italy which has seen a large outbreak.

The paper says the Foreign Office clarified the guidance last night advising against all but essential travel to 11 towns in the region.

The Guardian also paints a picture of life in Milan, which has come to a virtual standstill after the outbreak in the wider Lombardy region. It says Italy's frenetic capital of finance and fashion is now devoid of life.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Hundreds of tourists are trapped in a hotel in Tenerife after a guest tested positive for the virus

Under the headline "Virus Panic Hits Schools", the Daily Mail says staff and pupils at 18 schools were sent home on Tuesday amid fears they may have picked up the coronavirus during ski trips to Italy.

"Lockdown" is the headline in the Daily Mirror, which carries a photograph of the hotel in Tenerife where British tourists are among about 1,000 holidaymakers who have been told to stay in their rooms because of an outbreak of coronavirus.

The Financial Times reports that the impact of the virus and low growth forecasts have prompted the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to delay some of the government's key economic decisions until the autumn.

It says the budget next month will scrap a cut in corporation tax but proposals to raise taxes on high-end properties, curb pension tax relief and raise fuel duty are likely to be considered later in the year.

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The government will consider whether to reduce the size of the Army, according to the Times, in a major review of foreign and defence policy.

The paper says the review - due to be announced by the prime minister later - will be concluded by the end of the autumn.

The Telegraph suggests that defence spending overall could increase over the next five years. It says the review will look at how and where the Ministry of Defence spends money - an area much criticised by Boris Johnson's chief advisor, Dominic Cummings.

There are calls for the former Labour deputy leader, Tom Watson, to be barred from taking a peerage after his allegations of a Westminster paedophile ring were dismissed by the independent sex abuse inquiry.

The Sun accuses the former MP of promoting a "baseless conspiracy theory".

Image copyright EPA
Image caption The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier is preparing for future trade talks with the UK

A number of papers take the opportunity to review the EU's negotiating mandate ahead of talks on a new trade deal with the UK.

According to the Daily Mail, the process has already got off to an acrimonious start with the EU's demands already being rebuffed by Downing Street. In particular, it says Brussels requirement for access to UK fishing waters could sink a potential deal.

The Financial Times says the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has been irked by what he sees as the prime minister's backsliding just days before the talks begin. It says his frustration reflects concerns in Brussels that the two sides are heading in different directions.

And finally, new research has revealed what many of us always thought - that owners of the more expensive vehicles often make for less considerate drivers.

According to one US study - revealed in the Times - those behind the wheel of pricier models are less likely to stop at a zebra crossing.

And academics in Helsinki found a correlation between personality types, cars and wealth.

In the words of one researcher, "self-centred men who are argumentative, stubborn, disagreeable and lacking in empathy are much more likely to own a high-status car."