Britain's death toll from the disease nearly doubled on Saturday, as health officials announced 10 more people had died, bringing the total number of fatalities to 21. However, health officials advising the government argue that taking drastic measures too early would have only limited benefit and would risk tiring a population before the peak of the crisis. Queen Elizabeth II has postponed a number of engagements scheduled for next week "as a precautionary measure", according to Buckingham Palace. Her eldest son, Prince Charles, has postponed a trip to Bosnia, Cyprus and Jordan, scheduled to begin next week. Johnson has come under increasing pressure to follow fellow European leaders in cancelling large gatherings, but he has previously said the government would only do so when health officials advised him to.

Source: News 24 March 14, 2020 15:00 UTC