Warning to cities as virus cases leap to 36
THE UK Government’s health secretary Matt Hancock yesterday refused to rule out isolating entire cities if the coronavirus outbreak continues to escalate, as the number of confirmed cases in Britain leapt to 36.
A further 13 cases in the UK were announced yesterday, including the first case in Scotland, with Mr Hancock admitting it was now “inevitable” that the deadly virus would continue to spread. In Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country, it was announced that the number of people infected with coronavirus had soared to 1,576 – a rise of 40% in just 24 hours.
Wales announced its first case of Covid-19 – the respiratory disease caused by the virus – on Friday, when it emerged a man in his 50s had been diagnosed after returning from a skiing trip to Italy.
He was being treated in one of the four English hospitals which are being used to isolate those who have contracted the illness.
The Welsh Government’s health minister, Vaughan Gething, urged the public to “go about their normal day-to-day business”.
He said: “We’re at a stage where we’re looking to identify and contain coronavirus. That’s still the position we’re at and we still can’t be certain about what the future will bring.
“I don’t think it’s a sensible thing for any part of the government to paint the most worrying scenario and ask people to prepare for that.
“People don’t need to be worried, we don’t need to see schools close and we don’t need to see people stocking up on essentials.”
THE number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK leapt to 36 after 12 new patients were identified in England and a further case in Scotland – the first case to be recorded there.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said three of the patients were close contacts of a known Covid-19 case that was transmitted within the UK – believed to be a Surrey resident.
Another new patient, from Essex, has no relevant travel to an affected area, Prof Whitty said yesterday.
He added investigations were ongoing as to whether the patient had contracted it “directly or indirectly” from an individual who had recently travelled abroad.
Of the eight remaining English cases, six had recently travelled from Italy, while two had been in Iran.
These patients are from London, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire.
One of the confirmed cases is in Bury, according to Bury Council, which said the patient had been taken to a specialist NHS infection centre.
Dr Will Welfare, interim deputy director of health protection for Public Health England North West, said: “Public Health England is contacting people who had close contact with one of the latest confirmed cases of Covid-19.
“The case is a resident of Bury and became infected whilst in Italy. They are receiving care at an NHS specialist centre.”
The first person in Scotland to be diagnosed is a Tayside resident who recently travelled from Italy – the worst-affected country in Europe.
All of the newly-identified cases are being investigated and health officials have begun tracing anyone who had close contact with them.
As of 9am yesterday, more than 11,000 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK – with 35 confirmed as positive, with the number in Wales remaining at one.
It was confirmed on Friday that a man in his 50s from Swansea had been diagnosed with coronavirus after returning from a skiing trip in Italy.
He has since been taken for treatment at one of four centres dealing with coronavirus in England.
The latest cases were announced after England’s Health Secretary conceded it was “inevitable” that the deadly virus would continue to spread across the UK.
Matt Hancock did not rule out following China’s lead in shutting down cities if the Covid-19 outbreak escalates, as he outlined a new “battle plan” by the Government yesterday.
On isolating entire cities, as Chinese authorities did with Wuhan, Mr Hancock told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme: “There is clearly a huge economic and social downside to that.
“But we don’t take anything off the table at this stage because you have to make sure you have all the tools available if that is what is necessary.”
In Wales, the Welsh Government’s Health Minister Vaughan Gething urged the public not to panic and to carry on living as normal despite the outbreak.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement programme, he said: “We’re not wanting to panic people.
“We’re at a stage where we’re looking to identify and contain coronavirus. That’s still the position we’re at and we still can’t be certain about what the future will bring.
“I don’t think it’s a sensible thing for any part of the government to paint the most worrying scenario and ask people to prepare for that.
“People don’t need to be worried, we don’t need to see schools close and we don’t need to see people stocking up on essentials. We need people to go about their normal dayto-day business.”
The First Minister, Mark Drakeford, endorsed a UK Government contingency plan to utilise recently-retired doctors and nurses as part of the NHS in the event of a worst-case sce
nario, and said Wales would follow suit.
Ahead of today’s Cobra meeting being chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, he said: “If powers are taken to accelerate the return to the workforce... if there was a genuine pandemic of coronavirus, then of course we would be looking to play our part here in Wales.”
Dai Lloyd, chairman of the Welsh Assembly’s health committee and himself a GP, said he would encourage the public to be “a bit obsessive about hygiene”.
He said: “We’re coming into some unchartered territory, really.
“It is challenging to deal with, which is why at a personal and community level, we need to be doing the little things first, and that is hygiene. We need to get a bit obsessive about hygiene, frequently washing our hands with soap and water and selfisolating obsessively as well.”
The Republic of Ireland reported its first case on Saturday, while staff members at two separate schools in England were confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19.
Yesterday, St Mary’s School in Tetbury confirmed that a case identified the day before in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, was a member of staff.
In a letter to parents, headteacher Mrs Jo Woolley said that while it was not necessary to close the school from a health perspective, it will close until at least Wednesday due to “operational difficulties” with staff members.
She said: “Whilst I fully understand this will cause anxiety amongst the school community, I can assure you all necessary steps are being taken to minimise risk to others. A deep clean of the school was carried out on Saturday, February 29.
“All people who have had contact with the person have already been identified, contacted and know if they need to exclude themselves from school.”
Meanwhile, a staff member at an infant school in Berkshire was confirmed to have tested positive on Saturday. In an email, Willow Bank Infant School headteacher Michelle Masters urged parents to “remain calm and follow the recommended hygiene procedures”.
“The school will be shut for some days to allow for a deep clean and to ensure that the risk of infection remain[s] low,” Ms Masters said.
A pub in Haslemere, Surrey, has been closed until further notice for deep cleaning after a customer “tested positive for coronavirus”.
A patient in the county was confirmed as the first to catch the illness within the UK on Friday.
The landlords of the Prince of Wales pub said on Facebook that they had no symptoms of the virus and that it was a “precautionary measure only”.
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Social Care announced every department will have a ministerial lead on the virus, and a crossWhitehall “war room” is being set up to roll out an enhanced public information campaign.
Emergency powers designed to restrict Covid-19 if it becomes endemic, due to be announced this week, would only be “temporary”, said Mr Hancock.
He confirmed that “population distancing measures”, such as banning public gatherings and cancelling football matches, could be considered by the Government, while closing schools may be “necessary”.
He added the NHS was ready to deal with further cases of coronavirus, with more than 5,000 emergency critical care beds available.
The number of emergency meetings convened by the Government is to be increased, which comes amid criticism of Boris Johnson for failing to lead a Cobra contingencies committee on the outbreak until today.