Twelve more people in England have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the United Kingdom to 35.

Chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, confirmed that three of the new cases were known to have had close contact with an existing case in the UK.

Of the others, six had recently travelled from Italy and two from Iran.

One other patient, from Essex, had no connected travel history.

UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, said an emergency "battle plan" is drawn up if the virus keeps spreading, measures will include banning big events, closing schools and dissuading people from using public transport.

As of 9:00 am on Sunday, a total of 11,750 people in the UK have been tested, of which 11,715 were confirmed negative and 35 positive.