A SINGAPORE minister has hit out at the UK's approach to the coronavirus crisis, saying he is "concerned" cases will rise sharply.

The country's national development minister Lawrence Wong criticised the UK as he announced new border control measures for the UK, Japan and Switzerland. 

He said: "We are watching America closely, yes you are right that the numbers are rising there as well. But if you look at the countries that we have highlighted, one concern we have in UK, in Switzerland, in Japan, it’s not just about the numbers that they have reported. 

"In the case of the UK it is rising very rapidly but it’s not just about the numbers but the fact that these countries have abandoned any attempt at containing the spread of the virus. They have said so publicly, especially the UK and Switzerland, perhaps less so for Japan; but certainly in the case of the UK and Switzerland. I think the UK has been most public in acknowledging that there’s no point containing and they are simply now at the phase of trying to delay the spread. 

"So if there is no deliberate effort to contain then we anticipate that the numbers of infected cases in these countries will rise even more sharply in the coming days or weeks, and that’s why we are quite concerned."