AGONISING WAIT FOR VIRUS TESTS
3 patients in Scotland still not in clear as first EU cases are confirmed
THREE Scottish patients were last night still waiting to discover if they have the deadly coronavirus after health chiefs revealed two had already tested negative.
The five people were among 14 across the UK being initially tested for the deadly virus, which originated in Wuhan in China.
News of the first test results came as it emerged the illness had reached Europe as France declared its first cases.
Two patients there were confirmed as having coronavirus, with one hospitalised in Paris and the other in Bordeaux.
Health officials in the UK were also last night trying to trace 2,000 people who flew in from Wuhan in the fortnight before direct flights stopped on Wednesday.
Scottish Government officials yesterday confirmed the negative results on two of the Scottish patients as between ten and 20 across the UK were still waiting to find out whether or not they were infected.
Hospitals in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee had been keeping people in isolation following their return from Wuhan, although it is not yet known at which hospital the negative tests were reported. As the crisis escalated last night: Health Secretary Matt Hancock hosted a meeting of the UK Government’s emergency Cobra committee, as pressure grew on ministers to ramp up their response;
Thirteen Chinese cities were in lockdown as the death toll hit 26 and global cases rose past 900, with the virus also confirmed in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the US, Vietnam and Nepal;
Teams of doctors were posted at Heathrow to spot and treat sickly patients;
Boarding schools were warned that thousands of Chinese pupils could be stranded in the UK.
Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood said: ‘Scotland is well prepared for these types of outbreaks. We have a proven track record of dealing with challenging health issues and the UK was one of the first countries in the world to develop a test for the new virus. I am being kept fully informed about the precautionary steps being taken, including timely updates on the patients who are currently being tested.’
Discussing the outbreak in France, the country’s health minister Agnes Buzyn said these were the first two cases in Europe, adding it was likely other cases would arise.
The Bordeaux patient, a 48-yearold man, passed through Wuhan before travelling to France on Wednesday, the minister said.
He had reportedly been in contact with about ten people before he was taken into care, the minister said. French authorities are seeking to contact them.
Hospitals in Liverpool, Newcastle and two in London – the Royal Free and Guy’s And St Thomas’ – have readied their ‘high consequence infectious disease’ treatment centres to receive patients.
Officials admitted it would be almost impossible to stop the virus arriving in the UK because of a two-week incubation period – meaning someone could arrive from China showing no symptoms, before later falling ill.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said: ‘I am working closely with the other UK chief medical officers. We all agree that the risk to the UK public remains low, but there may well be cases in the UK at some stage. The UK has access to some of the best infectious disease and public health experts in the world.
‘A public health hub will be set up in Heathrow from today. This consists of clinicians and other public health officials, in addition to existing port health measures.’
The threat of a pandemic spreading to the UK sparked huge demand for protective face masks.
Ali Gazenfer, 45, owner of Buchanan and Campbell pharmacy, near international student accommodation in Glasgow’s West End, said queues began to form as news of the outbreak spread.
He said he had been forced to implement a single-item sale restriction on the protective items in order to maintain supplies.
Meanwhile, the Chinese School in Glasgow, which teaches Cantonese and Mandarin to Scottish-born Chinese children, posted on its notice board: ‘Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, The Glasgow Chinese School has decided that all lessons will be cancelled and the school building will be shut for three weeks until further notice.’