Thousands tested for coronavirus
MORE than 3,000 people in UK have been tested for the coronavirus, but there have been no new positive results, officials say.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said yesterday that 3,109 tests have been carried out in the UK so far, with nine positive results.
This is an increase of 117 tests on the 2,992 reported on Saturday.
The number of positive tests remains at nine, with eight of those patients now discharged from hospital after recording two negative tests for the strain known as Covid-19.
But “millions” of Britons with flu-like symptoms could be told by authorities to “self-isolate” by staying at home for a fortnight if the UK’s number of confirmed cases passes 100, a national newspaper has reported. It said that senior NHS managers have been told that the service will stop testing for Covid-19 “once around 100 cases have been confirmed” across Britain.
In the past week, hospitals have created “isolation pods” to keep those being tested away from other patients, it added.
If the number of cases rises significantly, those with coughs and colds may be asked to stay at home to limit the chance of the outbreak spreading.
The DHSC did not comment when asked about the self-isolation direction.
NHS England said on Saturday that all 94 people in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral had been released. They had been kept in isolation at the hospital after returning to the UK from Wuhan in China – the centre of the outbreak.
More than 100 people remain in isolation at the Kents Hill Park Hotel in Milton Keynes after being on a later rescue flight, the NHS added.
Britons on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have said they fear being stuck in isolation beyond the initial February 19 deadline. So far 355 of the 3,500 people on board the ship moored at Yokohama Port near Tokyo have tested positive for the virus.
Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said officials may extend the quarantine for guests who have shared cabins with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
But Briton David Abel said that passengers had heard they could be stuck on board for up to two months.
In a video on YouTube, Mr Abel added: “To cut a long story short, we could be here another month, not two weeks extra.
“We could be here for six, seven, eight weeks, that’s what we’ve heard.”
The first death from the virus outside Asia was confirmed in France on Saturday. The patient, a Chinese tourist, had arrived in France on January 16 and suffered a lung infection caused by the virus.
The death toll in mainland China has risen by 142 to 1,665. Chinese authorities also reported the number of new cases has fallen for the third straight day to 2,009.
The number of people infected globally stands at 68,500, according to the country’s National Health Commission.