The coronavirus situation in the UK has been described by Professor Mark Handley as following the same trend as in Italy, just delayed by around 14 days.

It means that in two weeks the spread of the virus could be as bad as it is in Italy , which is the site of the worst coronavirus outbreak outside of China.

Germany, France, Spain and the US are also following the trend set by Italy and on their current trajectory would have two weeks or less before hitting similar circumstances.

The Italian government's response to the coronavirus has been to put the entire country on lockdown , with all public events banned and blanket travel restrictions in place everywhere.

If the UK has just two weeks to go before we're in a similar situation could we see the same thing happen in Britain?

The Claim

A number of experts believe Britain is "two to three weeks" away from coronavirus conditions comparable to Italy's unless government ministers take drastic action.

Professor Francois Balloux said "the Covid-19 epidemic cannot be contained anymore", which means the UK government will have to switch to trying to delay the spread of the virus rather than keeping it confined to a few patients.

Sergio Brusin of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said there would be "thousands of cases" and potentially hundreds of deaths if the UK doesn't act quickly.

Putting people on lockdown and imposing quarantines would likely help slow down the spread of the coronavirus, imposing these measures sooner could even break the UK away from following the Italian trajectory where confirmed cases spiked from a few hundred to thousands over the past couple of weeks.

Former government minister Rory Stewart said prime minister Boris Johnson couldn't afford to wait before introducing more restrictive measures, insisting they should come into place as soon as possible.

Even if the government doesn't do it now it could end up being forced to introduce such measures further down the line when the situation worsens.

The Counter Claim

On the other hand, the government has defended decisions to delay restrictive measures such as the closure of schools.

Dr Jenny Harries, England's deputy chief medical officer, said information was being used to produce a "balanced response" , admitting that new measures could be brought in later on but for now self-isolation was valid.

She also suggested that the science behind the coronavirus doesn't necessarily support banning large outdoor public gatherings like sporting events, noting that "the virus will not survive very long outside" and people would be "relatively safe".

Besides, putting an entire nation of millions of people on lockdown is an incredibly difficult thing to do .

Historical evidence does support the idea that large scale quarantines help slow the spread

of disease, but it raises questions both on personal freedom and economic viability.

Telling people to stay in their homes for two weeks or more and to not travel in all but the most extreme of circumstances is easier than actually enforcing it, while the health costs of people being in extended isolation must also be considered.

The economic damage of a country on lockdown is significant too. While some people can work from home many more cannot and risk losing out on earnings if they are forced to stay home when they are not even ill.

The Facts

People who are either too unwell to come into work or have been told by their employers not to come in should still receive usual pay, though there is no statutory right to pay for people who have been told by medical experts to self-isolate or be placed in quarantine .

Up to two million Brits who are not eligible for sick pay are considered to be unable to afford two weeks of self-isolation.

Flights have been cancelled, some schools have been closed and medical personnel have been warned that they are facing an imminent increase in demand for their services. The government has already said retired doctors and nurses would be asked to return as a last resort.

Doctors in the NHS have warned that hospitals were running out of protective gear for staff , meaning those attempting to treat coronavirus patients will run the risk of catching and spreading it further.

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A poll of 1,600 doctors at the start of the month came back with just eight saying they believed the NHS was ready for the virus , with a lack of intensive care beds and an already overstretched healthcare service expected to struggle with a potential influx of new patients.

30 hospitals across the UK are ready to take on patients with infectious disease units where people can be put into isolation, while they can also cancel routine treatments to free up much-needed capacity.

The UK has around 4,000 intensive care beds, of which around 80 per cent are currently occupied. Around one in 20 coronavirus cases results in a person needing critical care.