Scientists in the United Kingdom have urged the government to take "more restrictive measures" to tackle the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country as cases in Britain surged to 1,372 as of Sunday morning, an increase of 232 over the last 24 hours.
Almost 400 scientists in the UK wrote to the government to further strengthen social distancing.
The letter reads, "This(Coronavirus) will most probably put the NHS at serious risk of not being able to cope with the flow of patients needing intensive care, as the number of ICU beds in the UK is not larger than that available in other neighbouring countries with a similar population,"
The letter also read, "By putting in place social distancing measures now, the growth can be slowed down dramatically, and thousands of lives can be spared. We consider the social distancing measures taken as of today as insufficient, and we believe that additional and more restrictive measures should be taken immediately, as it is already happening in other countries across the world."
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Sunday updated its travel advice for the United States.
"We are advising against all but essential travel to the USA following the U.S. government announcement imposing restrictions on travel from the UK (and Ireland) effective from midnight on Monday 16 March EST or 0400GMT on Tuesday 17 March," said a spokesperson from the departement.
According to the British Department of Health and Social Care, 14 more people have died in Britain on Sunday of COVID-19, bringing the country's death toll to 35.