The UK has announced a £30 billion emergency stimulus package to shore up the British economy from the coronavirus outbreak

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• Boris Johnson's government reveals a £30 billion package for protecting the economy from coronavirus.
• UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed emergency measures for the NHS and businesses on Wednesday.
• They included a £500 billion boost for the welfare state and a hardship fund for local authorities.
• Follow the latest developments in the UK as coronavirus spreads across the country.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The UK government has announced a series of emergency measures worth £30 billion to protect Britain's economy from the growing negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Chancellor Rushi Sunak on Wednesday revealed the Conservative government's first Budget since the general election.

He has been forced to re-write the government's spending plans in wake of the COVID-19 virus spreading across the UK.

Sunak said that the National Health Service would get all the funding it needs to deal with coronavirus, "whether it's millions of pounds, whether its billions of pounds, whatever it will cost, it will get."

He also announced that the welfare state would get a £500 million boost to help Brits who are cannot work.

This will include statutory sick pay for all people who isolate themselves from the virus, earlier benefits payments for the self-employed, and the removal of the minimum income floor from Universal Credit.

Sunak also said that the UK government would give a £500 million hardship fund to local authorities to spend on protecting vulnerable people in their areas.

On business, Sunak said that businesses which employ fewer than 250 people would be entitled to government refunds on any sick pay they give to the employees in the first two weeks.

Small businesses will also see their business rates scrapped entirely for 2020.

The UK government is also setting up a £1.2 million "interruption loan" for small and medium sized businesses affected by coronavirus.

There were nearly 400 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of Wednesday morning, with six deaths relating to the virus.

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