Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FIRST UK VIRUS DEATH
Woman in her 70s had caught the disease here Coronation Street hit as star is put in isolation People told to ‘keep their distance’ in public
A WOMAN has become the first to die of coronavirus in the UK, as the number of cases hit 116.
She is believed to be 75 and caught the bug in England.
New “social distancing” could come into force as the number of cases on the island of Ireland reached 16.
And a Corrie actor is self-isolating after returning from abroad.
MEDICAL experts could soon warn people not to shake hands, hug or kiss and keep a distance from others in a bid to contain the growing coronavirus spread.
It came after the first death in the UK from the bug yesterday believed to be a 75-year-old woman who had not travelled abroad and was already poorly. Officials are desperately trying to work out how she was infected.
And there were seven new cases in the Republic of Ireland confirmed – bringing the number on the island to 16.
It marks a new phase of the efforts to tackle Covid-19 as the Government moved from “containment” strategy to “mainly delay”.
As the number of cases again leapt yesterday – by 29 to 116 – England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “I’m very sorry to announce that a patient earlier on today died of novel coronavirus.
“The patient was elderly and with underlying health conditions. Our condolences are absolutely with the family at a very difficult time.”
The woman died in Reading, Berks. A spokesman for the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said: “The patient has previously been in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons, but on this occasion was admitted and last night tested positive for coronavirus.”
Prof Whitty told the Health and Social Care Select Committee “social distancing” measures could be gradually introduced that involved “changes to society”.
The advice on keeping distances and not touching others could come in if ministers move from containment to full delay. The elderly and those with serious conditions such as asthma are expected to be advised to stay home. Prof Whitty added: “One of the bits of advice that we will give is for people who are older or who have pre-existing health conditions to have some isolation from more public environments.”
But he added: “I think it’s easy to get a perception that if you are older and you get this virus then you’re a goner, absolutely not. The great majority of people will recover from this virus, even if they are in their 80s.”
Handshakes between players and officials before Premier League games have been temporarily banned.
Boris Johnson, who yesterday shook hands with This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby before he was interviewed on the show. Numbers of infections are rapidly increasing amid fears the true number infected is much higher.
But attempts to isolate cases in specialist centres have been abandoned, meaning medics are no longer trying to contain the disease’s seemingly inevi- table spread.
Instead, the focus will be on delaying the peak of the epidemic until the spring or summer.
Patients with milder symptoms will now be instructed to self-isolate at home. Only those who are seriously ill with the virus will be taken to hospital.
Prof Whitty said there was “some risk of transmission” from hand rails
– but only if people touch their faces without hand washing. King’s College Hospital in South London was in partial lockdown after two patients tested positive.
HSBC has confirmed an employee at its Canary Wharf offices in East London has the virus.
Dog show Crufts yesterday had one of its lowest turnouts of visitors due to the threat of coronavirus.
The NHS has urged Brits who returned from northern Italy, where the virus is raging, in the past two weeks with symptoms to self-isolate.
Starbucks UK will be “pausing the use of personal cups” as a precaution.
A HOSPITAL patient in Berkshire has become the first person in the UK to die from the coronavirus.
Such is the severity of the outbreak many more families will face the grief of losing a loved one in the weeks ahead.
At this anxious time we must look out for our friends and neighbours and continue to follow the official advice to wash our hands thoroughly and use tissues for coughs and sneezes.