Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty said that the UK will have to consider scrapping huge gatherings if the “virus intensifies”. Premier League games, the FA Cup Final, the Grand National and Glastonbury are all potentially under threat of getting the axe.

Schools could also potentially be closed for more than two months if the UK continues to be impacted by coronavirus.

The plans are allegedly being considered by ministers.

Prof Whitty said: “We are not saying we will do them, but we have to look at all of them.

“One of the things that’s really clear with this virus, much more so than flu, is that anything we do we’re going to have to do for quite a long period of time, probably more than two months.

“The implications of that are non-trivial, so we need to think that through carefully.

“This is something we face as really quite a serious problem for society potentially if this goes out of control. It may not but if it does globally then we may have to face that.”

It comes as Japan asked all elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide to close from Monday through the students’ spring break which will end in early April.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: “Efforts have been made to prevent the spread of infection among children in each region, and these one or two weeks will be an extremely critical period.

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Boots, Superdrug and Waitress have allegedly sold out of antibacterial hand gel.

However, health secretary Matt Hancock has insisted that there is no need to stockpile.

The virus has already forced 15 schools in the UK to close down.

A further 25 schools have turned away pupils and teachers.

Burbage Primary School in Buxton, Derbys, closed its doors yesterday after a parent returned infected with coronavirus from a Tenerife hotel where 160 Brits are quarantined.

Ireland’s Six Nations match against Italy has also been postponed with organisers saying they are monitoring the situation very closely.