Coronavirus confirmed in Hampshire

The first case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in Hampshire, although it has not yet been specified where.

Hampshire County Council have said that the resident, who had recently travelled to Italy, has now been transferred and is being treated at a hospital in London. Hampshire County Council have issued a statement about the case, in which they state:

“Public Health England is contacting people who had close contact with this person, who is a resident of Hampshire and had recently travelled to Italy. Those identified, will be given health advice about symptoms and emergency contact details to use if they become unwell in the 14-day intervening period. If you have not been contacted by Public Health England as a close contact of the confirmed case, you do not need to take any action at this time. This tried and tested method will ensure we are able to minimise any risks to those contacted and the wider public.”

In Winchester, two additional primary school children have been found to have travelled in a taxi which previously had a passenger in it who is now a confirmed case of the virus. As such, Oliver’s Battery Primary School has said that the children were both in quarantine at home as a “precautionary measure”.

In the letter, sent to parents on Tuesday, the school said:

“As the pupils have not had direct contact they are at very low risk of contracting the virus.”

It is not known whether the case of the taxi passenger is connected to this latest confirmed case of Coronavirus in Hampshire

England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has said:

“With all epidemics, what happens is they start off slowly and then they gradually gather momentum and then they suddenly go up relatively fast.

It’s almost certain that there will be more cases in the UK, probably a lot more cases. And we would expect some deaths too.”

This comes as UK cases jump by 34 in a day, taking the total number up to 85. And, as NHS England announce that Coronavirus is now a level 4 incident, which is the highest level of emergency.

Professor Whitty added that as the disease was spreading so significantly across the world, including Europe, it was unlikely that the UK would be able to escape a major hit.