FIRST SCOTS VICTIM OF KILLER VIRUS
Race on to find those who came into contact with new sufferer as disease tightens its grip on UK
A PATIENT was in isolation in hospital last night after becoming the first in Scotland to be diagnosed with coronavirus.
The unnamed victim was admitted on returning to Tayside after travelling from Italy.
The authorities have now launched a frantic search for anyone the sufferer may have come into contact with and are gathering details of the places the victim has visited since returning to the UK.
It comes as the coronavirus crisis tightened its grip on the UK yesterday, with 13 new cases confirmed in a single day.
It means the size of the British outbreak has almost trebled in four days – bringing the total number
diagnosed to 36. Crucially, five people have caught the virus within Britain’s borders since Friday – marking a watershed moment in the UK’s handling of the crisis.
Until then, all infected patients had caught coronavirus abroad and were quickly identified and isolated on their return.
But with the virus now spreading within the UK, experts warned it is ‘increasingly unlikely’ that the Government can prevent a ‘community-wide epidemic’ of the virus, which would see thousands of people infected.
Health officials in England are desperately trying to track down a coronavirus superspreader who may have unwittingly passed the disease on to two people in Surrey.
As the number of positive cases rocketed, health chiefs in Scotland launched a social media blitz and poster campaign aimed at raising hygiene awareness. The Scottish
Government issued advice on the importance of hand-washing as it says it awaits a ‘significant outbreak’ of the disease. As the crisis deepened last night:
■ Boris Johnson admitted there would ‘clearly’ be more cases in the coming days;
■ Ministers across the UK drew up a ‘battle plan’ to tackle the crisis, which would enable them to close schools, recall retired doctors to the NHS and ban large gatherings;
■ The Society for Acute Medicine said a major outbreak would bring ‘immense stress’ to the NHS and may mean elective operations have to be cancelled;
■ The World Health Organisation advised all over-60s to avoid crowded areas.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee (SGoRR) last night and will be attending the UK Government’s resilience (Cobra) meeting today.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Our first thoughts must be with the patient diagnosed with coronavirus. I wish them a speedy recovery. Scotland is well-prepared for a significant outbreak of coronavirus but there is currently no treatment or vaccine.
‘People have a vital role to play in helping us contain any outbreak by following the latest health and travel advice, and following basic hygiene precautions, such as washing hands frequently, not touching their face and covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.’
Scotland’s chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said: ‘This is peak season for respiratory and flu-like illness. There will be people presenting with symptoms of acute respiratory illness but these cases are highly unlikely to be coronavirus.
‘We practise and prepare our response to
‘It can easily go under the radar’
disease outbreaks and follow tried and tested procedures, following the highest safety standards possible for the protection of NHS staff, patients and the public.’
NHS Lothian has introduced ‘drivethrough’ coronavirus testing facilities in hospital grounds.
While coronavirus can be fatal – and roughly one in seven victims suffer very serious symptoms – for many people the impact can be mild.
This means victims could brush aside their symptoms, assuming it is a common cold.
Ministers had hoped they could contain coronavirus by tracking and isolating cases as they came in from high-risk countries.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted it was now ‘inevitable’ that coronavirus would become ‘endemic’ in Britain – the medical term for a virus becoming permanently resident in a country.
Mr Hancock refused to rule out the scenario of entire cities being locked down, as has already been done in China, although
he stressed he wanted to avoid this in order to minimise ‘social and economic disruption’.
Virus expert Professor Jonathan Ball of the University of Nottingham said the spread of the virus within Britain ‘marks a new chapter for the UK’. He said it was ‘crucial to understand where the infection came from to try to prevent more extensive spread’.
He added: ‘This was always a concern – this is a virus that frequently causes symptoms very similar to mild flu or a common cold, and it’s easily transmitted from person to person. This means it can easily go under the radar.’
A leading microbiologist warned that Glasgow’s United Nations COP26 climate change conference from November 9 to 20 could be cancelled. Up to 90,000 delegates and 200 world leaders are due to travel to Glasgow for talks on how to save the planet.
Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said: ‘It would be daft to go ahead with it if the virus is still active, say, in August. The organisers should give thought to having a much smaller meeting, or having it online so that no one needs to travel.’
A spokesman for COP26 said: ‘The summit is still many months away but we’re monitoring the situation closely.’
Health officials in Scotland are also to begin testing some patients with flu-like symptoms for coronavirus, even if they have not visited affected areas.
Almost 700 people have been tested for coronavirus in Scotland.
Hospitals and GP surgeries will now begin testing some patients suffering from coughs, fevers and shortness of breath – regardless of whether they have travelled to parts of the world hit by the virus.
A network of 41 GP practices will start sending samples for testing from patients who report such symptoms.
The Scottish Government has implemented measures including training Scottish Ambulance Service staff to support the transport of patients who may be infectious, and has delivered face masks to GP practices.