CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has this evening announced loans worth £330 billion among other coronavirus measures.

The measures were unveiled after the Government’s chief scientific adviser said around 55,000 people in the UK now have Covid-19.

Mr Sunak said the “unprecedented package” – equivalent to 15% of GDP – could go further if demand is greater, and vowed to do “whatever it takes” to help the economy.

The Chancellor, speaking at a press conference inside 10 Downing Street, also said he was extending the business rates holiday to all businesses in the hospitality sector and funding grants of up to £25,000 for smaller businesses.

He promised further action on top of measures announced in last week's Budget, saying that "never in peacetime have we faced an economic fight like this one".

He said: "This struggle will not be overcome by a single package of measures or isolated interventions.

"It will be won through a collective national effort, every one of us doing all we can to protect family, neighbours, friends, jobs.

"This national effort will be underpinned by Government interventions in the economy on a scale unimaginable only a few weeks ago."

"Today I am making available an initial £330 billion of guarantees, equivalent to 15% of our GDP.

"That means any business who needs access to cash to pay their rent, their salaries, suppliers or purchase stock will be able to access a Government backed loan or credit on attractive terms.

"And if demand is greater than the initial £330 billion I'm making available today, I will go further and provide as much capacity as required.

"I said whatever it takes, and I meant it."

And Mr Sunak said that for those in financial difficulty due to coronavirus, mortgage lenders will offer a three-month mortgage holiday.

He said: "For those in difficulty due to coronavirus, mortgage lenders will now offer a three-month mortgage holiday so that people will not have to pay a penny towards their mortgage cost while they get back on their feet."

He unveiled the measures after the Government’s chief scientific adviser said around 55,000 people in the UK now have Covid-19, as the NHS moved to cancel all non-emergency surgery and 71 people are now known to have died.

Boris Johnson said the Government "must and will act with a profound sense of urgency" and would be like a "wartime government".

The Prime Minister also warned that Covid-19 is so "dangerous" that without drastic action it will "overwhelm the NHS", as he warned that more "extreme measures" may be needed to protect lives in the future.

Shortly before the press conference, NHS England chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, told MPs the NHS would be "flat out" helping coronavirus patients for the next four to six months.

He has sent a letter to hospitals telling them to prepare for a big influx of patients requiring ventilation and ordered moves to cancel non-emergency surgery by April 15 at the latest, alongside the discharge of medically fit people to free up beds.

During a hearing of the Health Select Committee, chairman Jeremy Hunt asked Sir Patrick whether the expected death rate was one fatality for every 1,000 cases, which would mean that there are "potentially 55,000 cases" at present.

Sir Patrick said: "We've tried to get a handle on that in Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) and if you put all the modelling information together, that's a reasonable ballpark way of looking at it.

"It's not more accurate than that."

Sir Patrick Vallance told MPs it is hoped the death toll can be kept to under 20,000 as he told of the huge amount of strain the health service will be under from Covid-19.