TOO many Cumbrians are failing to heed the "social distancing" plea which experts say is vital if NHS services in the county are to escape being overwhelmed by the coronavirus crisis.

That was the message from Colin Cox, the County Council's Director of Public Health, as he spoke of his fear that people were continuing to congregate in bars, pubs and restaurants in defiance of the advice of experts who say that only by people avoiding unnecessary contact can the country avoid such a catastrophic rise in infections that hospitals would struggle to cope.

"There are a lot of people not taking it seriously," said Mr Cox.

"Colleagues who have been walking along Botchergate in Carlisle tell me they are seeing lots of people still sitting in restaurants having lunch and a similar picture is being fed back to us by the police, who say a lot of people are just ignoring this advice.

"But it's really important people take it seriously.

"The strategy nationally, and in Cumbria, is to limit contact to slow the spread of coronavirus: the reason that is important is that social distancing measures will help prevent our hospital services from being overwhelmed. People need to reduce their social contact as a part of slowing the transmission of this virus. "Everyone can play a part in that."

Mr Cox said the strategy was not just about maintaining a physical social distance from other people, who may without knowing carry the virus. It was also about no longer attending events where there are groups of people - such as in pubs, bars, restaurants and other social gatherings.

"If you go to a pub, you're probably not going to be able to stay two metres apart from everybody else," he said. "I appreciate that this is a really hard thing for the hospitality industry to accept it's a very important part of slowing the spread of this."

The latest figures available for the spread of coronavirus - with 2,626 people confirmed positive and 103 deaths - underline how the increase in cases has was now becoming 'exponential', said Mr Cox, who warned that the government was keeping open options for even tougher restrictions in the hope of buying time to boost critical care resources.

"The government is looking at all option," he said.

"They haven't decided on anything yet but issuing an instruction for places like bars and restaurants to close would be the next step and in some countries they're actually using enforcement measures on people who do not have a good reason for being out. The police have been given the power to issue an on-the-spot fine.

"Our government will do everything they can to avoid getting to that point but potentially it could happen."

Among the most alarming examples of how deadly the pandemic can be has been Italy, which on Wednesday reported its highest yet daily death toll, when it reached 475 fatalities, bringing the country's total during the pandemic to nearly 3,000.

Cumbria's hospitals were currently coping but there may come a point when they can not, he warned.

"Let's not beat about the bush: this is about saving lives," he said.

"It's not necessarily the lives of the people who are still going out, who may get a mild illness. It's about the ability of the NHS to treat people who will be seriously affected by the virus because they have an underlying or pre-existing condition. The NHS is stepping this up and trying to mobilise to get more people out of beds which can be used as intensive care beds.

"They're stepping that up at both of Cumbria's hospital trust and there'll be an increase in the number of ventilators which are being made available but that will take some time. Even if you're not thinking about protecting yourself because you're not worried you should take it seriously to protect other people."

Mr Cox spoke out just a few hours before Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the nation he is "absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country" and the coronavirus tide can be turned within the next 12 weeks - provided people embrace social distancing.

He urged members of the public to heed the expert advice.

Mr Johnson said: "I think, looking at it all, that we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks and I'm absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country.

"But only if we all take the steps that we've outlined, that is vital, that's how we're going to reduce the peak and once we've achieved that and I think that we will, if we take the steps I've said, then the scientific progress that we've been making will really start coming into play."