UK declares coronavirus a "serious and imminent threat" to public health

The UK has declared the Wuhan coronavirus a "serious and imminent threat to public health," which gives the government additional powers to delay or prevent the further spread of the virus.

In a statement Monday, the government said, "in light of the recent public health emergency from the novel coronavirus originating from Wuhan, (the) Secretary of State has made regulations to ensure that the public are protected as far as possible from the transmission of the virus."

Two locations in England -- Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside, and Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes -- have been designated as "isolation facilities," the statement added.