PA Media

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has now reached 460, after the biggest rise in a single day.

It comes as two more people with the virus died in the UK, bringing the total to eight.

One was in their 70s and had underlying health conditions in Dudley, while the other, in Nuneaton, was elderly and had a number of serious health conditions.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the peak of the UK outbreak was expected "in a matter of a couple of months".

He told MPs he was meeting the opposition "first thing" on Thursday to discuss emergency laws that will be set out next week, adding: "The best way for us to beat it is for us to work together."

The legislation will include measures to keep public services running, help businesses, and ensure the adult social care sector is ready.

He said Parliament would stay open, since "the public will expect Parliament to sit and to get on with its job", and the prime minister would chair a further meeting of the government's emergency Cobra meeting on Thursday.

It comes as the World Health Organization upgraded the status of the outbreak to a pandemic.

The two latest deaths were announced on Wednesday by George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust.