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Coronavirus: first case in Northern Ireland takes UK total to 16 Coronavirus: first case in Northern Ireland takes UK total to 16
(32 minutes later)
Follow latest news as it emerges Northern Irish patient had visited Italy, 50 Britons allowed to leave Tenerife hotel and UK chief medical officer says pandemic could close schools for two monthsFollow latest news as it emerges Northern Irish patient had visited Italy, 50 Britons allowed to leave Tenerife hotel and UK chief medical officer says pandemic could close schools for two months
The NHS is rolling out new services to test people for coronavirus, including “drive through” testing in west London.
The service, provided by Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust in Parsons Green, is only available after a referral from NHS 111.
It comes after the NHS’ strategic incident director for coronavirus asked health services across the country to set up home and community testing.
People are invited to an appointment in their car, where two community nurses carry out a swab in the nose and mouth. The patient is then asked to self-isolate while the swabs are assessed within 72 hours.
The European Football Championship will kick off in Rome as planned, Uefa has insisted, despite the growing number of coronavirus cases in Italy.
It comes as an unnamed professional footballer in the Italian third tier has tested positive for Covid-19.
Read the full story here.
Dr Michael McBride said the patient had recently returned from northern Italy.
He said: “I don’t think it should cause a lot of concern (to the public). I think we should reassure the public as we have been doing all along. As the minister has said repeatedly it wasn’t a case of if but when we would have a case in Northern Ireland.
“We have now seen our first case in Northern Ireland – someone returning from northern Italy – and that is not unexpected.”
At a media briefing, Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency (PHA) confirmed testing of a patient had resulted in a presumptive positive test for coronavirus.At a media briefing, Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency (PHA) confirmed testing of a patient had resulted in a presumptive positive test for coronavirus.
The test outcome has now been sent to Public Health England laboratories for verification.The test outcome has now been sent to Public Health England laboratories for verification.
The patient is receiving specialist care and PHA officials are working to identify any contacts the patient had to help prevent further spread.The patient is receiving specialist care and PHA officials are working to identify any contacts the patient had to help prevent further spread.
Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said: “We have robust infection control measures in place which enable us to respond immediately. Our health service is used to managing infections and would assure the public that we are prepared.” Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride said: “We have robust infection control measures in place which enable us to respond immediately. Our health service is used to managing infections and would assure the public that we are prepared.”
McBride said he would not disclose any personal details of the patient, or where they were being held.McBride said he would not disclose any personal details of the patient, or where they were being held.
More information on the announcement there are now 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France, more than doubling the tally in 24 hours.More information on the announcement there are now 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France, more than doubling the tally in 24 hours.
During a press conference, French health minister Olivier Veran said this “sharp increase” from 18 cases on Wednesday was due to the identification of so-called “contact persons” linked to previously known cases, adding France was “ready” for an epidemic. During a press conference, the French health minister, Olivier Veran, said this “sharp increase” from 18 cases on Wednesday was due to the identification of so-called “contact persons” linked to previously known cases, adding that France was “ready” for an epidemic.
Health ministry director Jerome Salomon said out of the 38 cases, two people had died, 12 were cured and 24 were hospitalised, two of those being in a “serious condition”. Health ministry director, Jerome Salomon, said out of the 38 cases, two people had died, 12 were cured and 24 were hospitalised, two of those being in a “serious condition”.
Chief medical officer of Northern Ireland Michael McBride told journalists that the first confirmed coronavirus patient in the region had travelled from Italy via Dublin.Chief medical officer of Northern Ireland Michael McBride told journalists that the first confirmed coronavirus patient in the region had travelled from Italy via Dublin.
France now has 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the French health minister has said.France now has 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the French health minister has said.
Sam Gelder here. I will be running the Guardian’s live blog, updating you on the latest information surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. If you have any news tips, images or updates from your area then please do share it with me.Sam Gelder here. I will be running the Guardian’s live blog, updating you on the latest information surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. If you have any news tips, images or updates from your area then please do share it with me.
Email: sam.gelder.casual@theguardian.comEmail: sam.gelder.casual@theguardian.com
Northern Ireland has its first confirmed case of coronavirus, taking the total number of UK cases to 16.Northern Ireland has its first confirmed case of coronavirus, taking the total number of UK cases to 16.
Read the Guardian’s summary of what to do here:Read the Guardian’s summary of what to do here:
I will be handing the live blog over to my colleague shortly. Here is a summary of the main news in the last three hours.I will be handing the live blog over to my colleague shortly. Here is a summary of the main news in the last three hours.
• 50 Brits were among 130 guests told they can leave a coronavirus-hit Tenerife hotel. Some 168 British nationals are among hundreds of guests being kept at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the south west of the Spanish island after at least four guests, including an Italian doctor, tested positive for coronavirus.• 50 Brits were among 130 guests told they can leave a coronavirus-hit Tenerife hotel. Some 168 British nationals are among hundreds of guests being kept at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the south west of the Spanish island after at least four guests, including an Italian doctor, tested positive for coronavirus.
• The chief medical officer, professor Chris Whitty, said schools could shut for two months in the event of a pandemic. He was speaking about measures to reduce risk if the coronavirus outbreak reaches pandemic proportions. While noting that such an outcome was just one possibility, he said that there could be a “social cost” if the virus intensifies seeing mass gatherings reduced and schools closed for more than two months.• The chief medical officer, professor Chris Whitty, said schools could shut for two months in the event of a pandemic. He was speaking about measures to reduce risk if the coronavirus outbreak reaches pandemic proportions. While noting that such an outcome was just one possibility, he said that there could be a “social cost” if the virus intensifies seeing mass gatherings reduced and schools closed for more than two months.
• A councillor has said Buxton is not in lockdown, amid reporting suggesting it was. Samantha Flower, a borough councillor for the Burbage area of Buxton, where a school has been closed due to the outbreak, said there was no sense of lockdown in the town but that there was confusion about the advice for anyone with symptoms.• A councillor has said Buxton is not in lockdown, amid reporting suggesting it was. Samantha Flower, a borough councillor for the Burbage area of Buxton, where a school has been closed due to the outbreak, said there was no sense of lockdown in the town but that there was confusion about the advice for anyone with symptoms.
• The death toll in Italy reaches 17. Three more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, the Civil Protection Agency said.• The death toll in Italy reaches 17. Three more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, the Civil Protection Agency said.
• Greece has announced that it will reinforce border patrols, citing the threat posed to the country of coronavirus being brought in by refugees and migrants desperate to reach Europe.• Greece has announced that it will reinforce border patrols, citing the threat posed to the country of coronavirus being brought in by refugees and migrants desperate to reach Europe.
Facebook Inc said it would cancel its annual developer conference, F8 2020, amid rising concerns of the coronavirus outbreak.“In place of the in-person F8 event, we’re planning other ways for our community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content,” said Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, director of platform partnership.The conference, which attracted 5,000 people from around the world last year, was scheduled to be held on 5 -6 May at San Jose, California.Facebook Inc said it would cancel its annual developer conference, F8 2020, amid rising concerns of the coronavirus outbreak.“In place of the in-person F8 event, we’re planning other ways for our community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content,” said Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, director of platform partnership.The conference, which attracted 5,000 people from around the world last year, was scheduled to be held on 5 -6 May at San Jose, California.
NHS doctors have told the Guardian of their experiences of the government’s handling of coronavirus, warning that they have concerns about how patients who may have been infected are being managed.
James (not his real name), a GP in Derbyshire, where one of the latest British coronavirus cases is thought to have been located, described the Department of Health’s response to the virus as “ridiculous” and “negligent”.
He said none of his patients who had travelled back from at-risk countries had been given any information at airports or sea ports on what to do if they developed symptoms of coronavirus.
James said his practice had seen patients arriving back from affected areas, some of whom had been on cruises around many regions experiencing coronavirus outbreaks, who had not been given any information on what to do if they developed symptoms.
Read more here
Around 50 Britons quarantined at a coronavirus-hit Tenerife hotel have been told they can leave, the PA news agency understands.Some 168 British nationals are among hundreds of guests being kept at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the south west of the Spanish island after at least four guests, including an Italian doctor, tested positive for coronavirus.Those who can leave are understood to have arrived on Monday, after the guests who were diagnosed had already left.
Overall, 130 guests from 11 countries have been told they can leave by Spanish authorities.
‘Please visit Chinatown’: coronavirus fears empty San Francisco district
Most days you can’t walk through San Francisco’s historic Chinatown without bumping into a tourist’s extended arm, readying for a camera-phone photo.
Lunchtime in particular is usually a bustling affair. But on a recent weekday at the height of the coronavirus pandemic that has dominated Asian countries across the Pacific Ocean, there was a noticeable absence of foot traffic.
At the Dragon Gate on Grant Avenue, the entrance to Chinatown that is usually frequented for selfies, no one posed and no one snapped. The picturesque and Instagram-worthy red lanterns that hung between buildings went unphotographed, as did the bright mural of Bruce Lee and the ornate architecture. The erhu that an elderly gentleman played for no one outside Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral practically echoed down the street.
Read more here
England has only 15 available beds for adults to treat the most severe respiratory failure and will struggle to cope if there are more than 28 patients who need them if the number of coronavirus cases rises, according to the government and NHS documents.
Ministers have revealed in parliamentary answers that there are 15 available beds for adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment at five centres across England. The government said this could be increased in an emergency. There were 30 such beds in total available during the 2018-19 winter flu season.
But an NHS England document prepared in November 2017 reveals the system will struggle to cope if more than 28 patients need the treatment, describing that situation as black/critical.
Thanks to everyone who has been emailing and messaging me. I am now moving into my last hour running the Guardian’s live blog and your insight has been really useful. If you have any news tips, images or updates from your area then please do share them with me.
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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said:
US officials are ramping up efforts to guard Americans against a local spread of the new coronavirus, dispatching test kits nationwide, and promising funding legislation within the next two weeks.At least 40 public health labs should now be able to test specimens for coronavirus and that could more than double by Friday, health and human services secretary Alex Azar told a House of Representatives committee.He said a newly manufactured test from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can be sent to 93 public health labs as soon as Monday, and a privately manufactured test based on the new CDC test could be sent to those same labs as early as Friday.
Three more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, bringing the death toll from the worst outbreak of the illness in Europe to 17, the Civil Protection Agency said.The number of confirmed cases has risen to 650, officials said, from 528 announced at a news conference some seven hours earlier. The vast majority are in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
The virus is beginning to have an effect on sporting events and organisations. Italian football authorities have insisted matches be played behind closed doors this weekend and the Ireland Italy clash in the Six Nations rugby has been postponed.
Bigger concerns, however, lie over the fate of this summer’s prestige tournaments, particularly the men’s European Football Championship in June and the Tokyo Olympics the month after.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday declared “business as usual” in their plans. However Christopher Dye, an epidemiologist at Oxford University who worked with the IOC during the Zika virus outbreak before the 2016 Rio Games, said that governing bodies will currently be contemplating their response to all possible scenarios, and who would be responsible should things go wrong.
“What the Japanese authorities and IOC are saying is that they fully intend to go ahead and that would be the right judgment at this stage”, Dye told the Guardian. “The end of July is a long way away. We are not even two months into the [outbreak] and a lot of things have already happened. We have seen it spread across China and decline almost everywhere in China and in some parts at a dramatic rate.
“Nobody knows what is going to happen by the summer but the sensible thing is to consider different scenarios. What the organisers will be asking is: what are the risks, the costs, the benefits and who will be responsible if something horrible happened?”
The European Championships are set to be held in 12 cities across the continent, which poses a different risk for the spread of the disease and, according to Dye. “The idea of controlling spread close to venues would essentially be an impossibility.
“The issue of responsibility will be very important as well. What’s happening in Italy at the moment will be one factor that will be taken into account. But Italy in February when it comes to April and May will look like relatively distant past.”
Day said he thought the likelihood of the coronavirus mutating into a stronger strain was unlikely this year but that the occurrence of victims testing positive after having apparently already recovered from the virus was concerning. “We don’t know why this has happened. It could be that the testing was not rigorous enough”, he said. “But if it is the case that immunity is not long lasting then developing a vaccine for coronavirus will be more difficult”.
The director of the Wellcome Trust has called for the world bank to spend $10bn on the crisis.
Jeremy Farrar said an urgent commitment of $10bn (£7.7bn), “with more to follow as needed,” was “essential” from the World Bank to “underpin the public health measures in low- and middle-income countries, coordinated by the WHO alongside critical investment in diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.”
He said: “Anything less leaves us at risk of much greater costs later and long-term catastrophe. The sums are considerable. The decision to release funds should not be taken lightly, but the stakes could not be higher.”
Farrar said what was missing in the global response was tangible, high-level funding and support from global financial institutions including the World Bank, Regional Development Banks and the International Monetary Fund.
“The possible impact of this coronavirus is far beyond a health emergency – it’s a global crisis with potential to reach the scale of the global financial crisis of 2008,” he said.