@Matt N sorry but I disagree with a lot of your post. The hospital China built had very little in terms of staff. Didn't have basic facilities such as toilets. People who went there without the virus ended up catching it. 60% infection rate I read somewhere from people entering that hospital.
China contained it by welding doors closed so people couldn't get out of their apartments. Who knows how many are suffering or already dead inside.
Nearly the entire country of China has been in lockdown and that's the only way they have controlled it (well, it's not fully controlled yet).
As for controlling it, I don't think we are able to control it. A report today suggests the R0 to be up to 6. So for each person who has it they will pass it on to up to 6 more people, which explains the exponential growth we are seeing. Experts still don't know how it is transmitted or how long it lives on surfaces!
Given the incubation period is up to a month, it's only a matter if time now until cases across Europe and the UK skyrocket as people start to show symptoms. Many who have been in holiday in Italy over half term now will be back in the UK.
Direct flights still arrive daily into the UK from Iran, China, south Korea, Singapore etc with no checks. It's only a matter of time before someone perhaps comes in from Iran and passes or around.
A member of the WHO suggests this could be Disease X which could wipe out millions. Thankfully this virus is RNA based which don't mutate as much as DNA viruses, but either way, could the UK cope with 20% of infected cases needing to go in to ICU and put on mechanical ventilation for up to two weeks..? I doubt it.
We can't even cope with a bad flu season......