Two people in UK test positive for coronavirus
- Health officials said the two patients are members of the same family and they were getting ‘specialist care’
- A plane carrying 110 evacuees from Wuhan arrived in Oxfordshire on Friday
“We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus,” Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said in a statement.
“The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus,” he added, referring to the National Health Service.
Whitty said the state-funded NHS was “extremely well-prepared” and officials were “working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread”.
“We have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus and we have robust infection control measures in place to respond immediately,” he added.
The virus, which originated in the central Chinese city Wuhan, has so far killed 213 people and spread to at least 18 countries around the world.