The UK has been warned to expect distancing measures for some time.

Normal life will not resume for at least six months, a key government doctor has said, as she warned of the "worrying" first confirmed death of a frontline NHS worker with coronavirus.

First frontline NHS worker to die from coronavirus named

Dr Jenny Harries, deputy chief medical officer for England, said the UK will not be in "complete lockdown" for half a year but social distancing measures will be lifted gradually.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries answering questions from the media via a video link during a media briefing in Downing Street.Picture: Pippa Fowles/Crown Copyright/10 Downing Street/PA Wire | PA (Press Association)

Her warning at Sunday's coronavirus press conference came as the government placed all parts of the UK on an "emergency footing" in an "unprecedented step in peace time".

Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick also said "we simply cannot" ask health workers to go on to the frontline without adequate protective equipment, shortly after the NHS announced the death of a 55-year-old consultant with Covid-19.

'Normal life' will not resume for six months, says government doctor

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