Coronavirus: Former Tory health secretary Jeremy Hunt hits out at Boris Johnson's 'surprising and concerning' response to outbreak

Jeremy Hunt has hit out at Boris Johnson’s “surprising and concerning” response to the coronavirus epidemic, as he urged for greater public restrictions to help the most vulnerable people in the UK.

His comments come after the prime minister told the nation that covid-19 was the worst public health crisis for a generation and warned more families would see their loved ones die from the virus in a frank press conference at No 10.

Appearing on BBC Newsnight, Mr Hunt, the former health secretary, described the outbreak as a “national emergency”, but criticised the action taken by the government to stem the spread of the disease.

Asked about the decision not to cancel large gatherings yet, Mr Hunt said: "I think it is surprising and concerning that we're not doing any of it at all when we have just four weeks before we get to the stage that Italy is at.

“You would have thought that every single thing we do in that four weeks would be designed to slow the spread of people catching the virus."

He added that he was "personally surprised that we're still allowing external visits to care homes" and suggested schools could run a “skeleton service” where children of key public service workers, such as NHS staff, remain in classes.

Mr Hunt, who now chairs the Commons health and social care select committee, added, also told Channel 4 News that “many people will be surprised and concerned that we’re not moving sooner” over the decision not to close schools and prevent mass gatherings.

Pressed personally whether he was surprised, he added: “Yes, I am. The reason is because one thing we do have now is evidence of countries that appear to have been strikingly successful in turning back the tide of the virus.

“Thailand for example, the first country outside China to get the virus, only 59 reported cases. Taiwan right next door only 49 cases.

“They might be underreporting but most people realise the places that have succeeded are the ones that moved earliest to social distancing – the business of trying to keep the most vulnerable people away from the places they may catch the virus.

On Thursday, France became one of the latest European countries to close all schools, universities and nurseries, while in the US, all major sport has been suspended and Broadway performances have been stopped for a month.

The Republic of Ireland also announced the closure of all schools and childcare facilities and other public spaces such as museums, while Scotland banned gatherings of more than 500 people.

Mr Johnson, however, steered clear of closures of schools and bans on public gatherings, as he outlined the UK government’s response to the public health crisis in Downing Street on Thursday.

He said that from now on, people with even mild coronavirus symptoms, including a continuous cough or high temperature, must stay at home for at least seven days.

School trips abroad should be stopped, people over 70 with serious medical conditions are being told not to go on cruises, and officials warned the advice is likely to develop so that entire households could be told to self-isolate.

The Government said it would not move to close schools yet as the evidence for its effectiveness is lacking, though this will be kept under review.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, told Radio 4’s Today programme the government’s measures were aimed at reducing the peak of the virus in the coming weeks and months.