page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
section_title: United Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Europe / Pandemic by country and territory / United Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: DSC05657
context_page_description: As of 13 March 2020, when the number of new cases became greater than those in China, the World Health Organization began to consider Europe the active centre of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cases by country across Europe had doubled over periods of typically 3 to 4 days, with some countries showing doubling every 2 days.
  As of 17 March, all countries within Europe had a confirmed case of COVID-19, with Montenegro being the last European country to report at least one case. At least one death has been reported in all European countries, apart from the Vatican City.
  As of 18 March, more than 250 million people were in lockdown in Europe.
  As of 24 May, 68 days since its first recorded case, Montenegro became the first COVID-19-free country in Europe, but this situation lasted only 44 days before a newly imported case was identified there.
context_section_description: On 31 January, England confirmed the first two cases, both members of a family of Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York who were taken to specialist facilities in Newcastle upon Tyne. Afterwards, several confirmed cases were detected across the UK.
  The UK government implemented preventive measures to curb the spread of infections which included contact tracing, isolation and testing, some of which were related to the Italy clusters. The NHS set up drive-through screening centres at several hospitals to test members of the public showing symptoms. This effort was later replaced with screening focused on diagnosing patients in secondary care.
  On 2 March, Ministers approved the Department of Health and Social Care coronavirus action plan, which sets out actions to date, future measures, cooperation between devolved political and health authorities, and the level of preparedness of the country's four National Health Services. It outlined the government's objectives to deploy phased actions to Contain, Delay, and Mitigate any outbreak, using Research to inform policy development.
  On 25 March, the UK Parliament legislated to provide the government and authorities with emergency powers to handle the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, such as the power to restrict public gatherings, order businesses to close, and the ability to detain those suspected of having the virus. The Coronavirus Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 25 March and came into force on the same day.
  On 5 April, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital after testing positive to coronavirus 10 days earlier. He was admitted into intensive care the following night, when his symptoms further worsened. He left hospital on 12 April.
  As of 6 May, the total of confirmed cases was 201,101; the total of recorded deaths in all settings was 30,076, the highest in Europe and second highest in all the countries after United States. However, the death toll did not continue to increase throughout the summer, and Brazil and Mexico now have more deaths as of 1st August 2020.
caption: Man in London wearing a face mask on 19 March
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