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Two more patients in England test positive for coronavirus Two more patients in England test positive for coronavirus
(about 2 hours later)
Patients caught virus in Italy and Tenerife, Department of Health saysPatients caught virus in Italy and Tenerife, Department of Health says
Two further patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15, the Department of Health said. Two further patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15, the Department of Health said on Thursday.
The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife, and the patients have been transferred to specialists at the Royal Liverpool hospital and the Royal Free hospital, London, the DoH said.The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife, and the patients have been transferred to specialists at the Royal Liverpool hospital and the Royal Free hospital, London, the DoH said.
The new cases bring the total number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in the UK to 15. Of the 13 people in the UK who had previously tested positive for Covid-19, eight have been discharged from hospital. Four of those who remain in hospital are Britons who caught the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and were flown back to the UK on Saturday. Another 168 Britons have been told to isolate themselves at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife.
Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 400 and 12 people have died. And 168 Britons have been told to isolate themselves at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife. The new cases come after the health secretary, Matt Hancock, warned MPs on Wednesday to expect more cases and Public Health England (PHE) announced that it was stepping up testing to ascertain “whether there’s evidence of infection more widespread than we think there is”. More than 7,000 people in the UK have been tested to date. PHE said it will expand testing to people with “severe respiratory symptoms”.
The chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, said: “Two further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15. Responding to the new cases Prof Rowland Kao, professor of veterinary epidemiology and data science, University of Edinburgh, said: “We already have evidence of onward transmission occurring outside of China and so these two cases (associated with situations with high levels of infection) are not surprising.
“The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres in Royal Liverpool hospital and the Royal Free hospital, London.” “This occurrence should therefore already be well within the scope of the current approach to control. It does highlight that we should continue to expect more cases without direct association with China, and therefore (despite evidence of the epidemic tailing off in China) a need for continued vigilance with appropriate control measures for some time.”
Hancock told parliament on Wednesday that the government was prepared for a pandemic but was currently in the “contain phase” and warned against “overreaction” as some 40 schools either closed their doors or sent pupils home, the oil giant Chevron ordered 300 traders and other staff at its office in Canary Wharf to work from home and the FTSE 100 plummeted on fears of the global economic impact.
On Thursday, the Department for Education (DfE) updated its advice to schools after headteachers complained that the messages they were receiving were inconsistent.
The DfE said schools should not send pupils home unless they have had contact with a confirmed case of covid-19 and that pupils and staff should only be asked to self-isolate if they have travelled to a category 1 specified country or area in the past 14 days.
Ministers have announced a mass public information giving advice on how to react to suspected cases and guard against infection amid officials’ fears that it could take just 72 hours for an outbreak the size of Italy’s to take hold.
Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 400 and 12 people have died.
The UK school closures resulted from precautions taken after staff and pupils returned from skiing trips in northern Italy, where a number of towns have been subjected to containment measures.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization number of new coronavirus cases being officially reported outside China had overtaken those reported by Beijing for the first time since the outbreak began.
On Thursday, China reported an increase in infections from 411 to 433 but the number of deaths almost halved from 52 the previous day to 29. As the situation appears to be improving in China, concerns have been raised about the situation outside the country. South Korea announced 334 new cases, mostly in Daegu, on Thursday while Estonia, Denmark, Pakistan, Georgia, Norway, North Macedonia, Greece and Romania are among countries to report their first case of coronavirus in the last day.
Saudi Arabia took the unprecedented step of banning foreign pilgrims from entering the country five months before the annual hajj pilgrimages.