The Government's Chief Scientific Adviser has said that older people can continue to attend church as normal for now. 

Sir Patrick Vallance told The Telegraph that the risk of catching coronavirus from attending church was still "very low". 

Asked by the newspaper whether older people should consider avoiding church services and other social gatherings in light of the coronavirus outbreak, he said: "Stopping all interaction is something you can't do and you shouldn't do.

"With the numbers we are talking about at the moment, the probability of coming across someone in church who is infected is very low, but as things progress that might change." 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the coronavirus outbreak will "present significant challenges" to the UK. 

The Government has so far resisted more drastic containment measures like nationwide school closures or restrictions on movement. 

There were 319 confirmed cases in the UK as of Monday.  A fifth patient died last night. 

While there has been concern for older people living in care homes, Louise Morse, of the Christian care home charity Pilgrim's Friend Society, said she believed they were one of the safest places for the elderly at the moment. 

"Care homes have been looking after vulnerable older people for decades (Pilgrims' Friend Society since 1835), and infection control is embedded in their daily thinking and practices," she told Christian Today.

"For example, when the infamous norovirus rages in the winter time, lockdown and containment is automatic." 

She added: "Care homes are also well supported by Public Health England's (PHE) local Health Protection Teams, and kept up to the minute with Government information."