Matt Hancock’s worries about the coronavirus don’t go far enough – now is the time for action

Editorial: If we do indeed need supported isolation in the near future, no one could reasonably expect the NHS to create the bed spaces and staff to meet demand

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has professed himself ‘worried’ by the coronavirus (AFP)

“Coronavirus: the government and the NHS are well prepared to deal with this virus” runs the slogan in the current official public health campaign.

It offers some useful tips about washing hands and for returning travellers, and is designed to reassure the public. Thus far, despite the 13 people tested as positive for coronavirus, and the running commentaries on outbreaks in Tenerife, Japan, Austria, Croatia, Italy and elsewhere, there is, as yet, no widespread panic.

There was a brief fuss about the so-called “super-carrier” in Sussex, some schools have taken the precaution of closing down, and some eccentrics are choosing to wear (ineffective) face masks. But that, so far, has been the extent of the public reaction. Although Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has professed himself “worried” by the situation – understandably – it seems to be under control. In the commons, when Mr Hancock gave an update on the position, the mood was calm, and the opposition spokesperson, Jonathan Ashworth, was broadly supportive. Covid-19 has not yet, so to speak, gone viral as a political issue.