UK coronavirus plans would strip police and fire services to essentials

Government’s action plan sets out steps to be taken to combat spread of Covid-19

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Police and fire services will only respond to the most serious call-outs if their staff fall ill through coronavirus, the government warned on Tuesday, in a key planning document setting out how ministers would deal with an escalating outbreak.

The action plan envisages that the army could be called in to help if requested by civilian authorities. And it says that up to a fifth of the national workforce could be absent from work, schools could close and elderly people would be advised not to attend social gatherings.

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