Brits suffering flu-like symptoms could be ordered to "self-isolate" for two weeks if coronavirus cases soar, according to reports.
Officials have reportedly been drawing up the plans if the number of cases reaches the hundreds.
That would result in millions of people in the UK being quarantined in their own homes with coughs and colds.
The plans have been discussed at a series of high-level meetings, reports the Sunday Telegraph.
It emerged this week that a Chinese tourist in France became the first person to die from the coronavirus in Europe.
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Nine people in Britain have contracted the virus, although eight of those have since recovered.
China reported 142 new deaths from coronavirus on mainland on February 15.
The death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has reached 1,665 as of the end of Saturday, up by 142 from the previous day, the country's National Health Commission said on Sunday morning.
The number of new deaths in China's central Hubei province from the coronavirus outbreak rose by 139 as of Saturday.
Across mainland China, there were 2009 new confirmed infections on Saturday.
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The total accumulated number so far has reached 68,500.
The coronavirus broke out in Wuhan, China, at the end of last year.
According to reports, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had ordered the execution of an official who had breached a quarantine order.
It is understood he was spotted at public baths, before he was shot down.
North Korea has not confirmed any cases of the virus yet.
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