The coronavirus has been transmitted within the UK for the first time, officials revealed, after a person in Surrey became the 20th person in the country to contract the virus.

Hours later it emerged that emergency laws allowing health and safety measures to be bypassed in order to keep the country running during a looming outbreak could be rushed in next week amid Number 10 fears of an economic meltdown.

The number of worldwide coronavirus cases has continued to rise, as stock markets across the globe plunged to record lows in the face of mounting fears around the disease’s spread.

A host of countries reported their first infections on Friday, as Nigeria became the first in sub-Saharan Africa to do so.

Meanwhile, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said Britain should prepare for a financial fallout while Wall Street endured its biggest one-day drop in nine years.

Read below for The Independent's coverage of Friday's events as they unfolded: