First coronavirus case confirmed in LONDON as deadly bug spreads to capital
THE first coronavirus case has been confirmed in London today as the deadly bug spread to the capital.
The woman had travelled from China and was diagnosed at a hospital this afternoon, a government source told The Sun.
IT’S SPREADING
Public health officials will now be scrambling to find everyone she has been in contact with.
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England said: “One further patient in England has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of cases in the UK to nine.
“This virus was passed on in China and the patient has now been transferred to a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London.”
London’s congested transport network and 8.9million population will make it a nightmare to track down potential victims to be tested.
Scientists have warned that London is at a greater risk than any other city in Europe due to the number of Chinese visitors that flock there each year.
This virus was passed on in China and the patient has now been transferred to a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London.
Professor Chris Whitty
More than 142,000 tourists arrive in London from China between January and the middle of March every year.
Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said: “If confirmed, it is not surprising that London has seen its first case of the coronavirus.
“It’s a city of over 10 million people with several major international airports.
“Both London and the rest of the UK can expect to see more cases, though hopefully these will continue to be isolated cases and seen in small numbers.”
A total of 1,758 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK, of which 1,750 were confirmed negative and now nine positive.
SCHOOLS SHUT
It comes as 12 schools in Sussex have been placed on infection alert as teachers and pupils are told to quarantine themselves.
Five people in the county have been diagnosed with coronavirus and dozens who came into contact with them have been ordered to self-isolate by Public Health England (PHE).
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Since then, schools in Brighton, Hove and Eastbourne have pupils or staff in quarantine as a precaution.
Brighton has become the epicentre of the virus after a cub Scout leader — dubbed the coronavirus “super-spreader” — unwittingly brought it into the UK last month following a business trip to Singapore.
Stephen Walsh, 53, from Hove, may have spread the virus to dozens of people without suffering any symptoms himself.
‘SCAPEGOAT’
His next-door neighbour, Ian Henshall, 59, said Mr Walsh is now “very concerned” that he will be held responsible for the outbreak.
Mr Henshall told the Mirror: “I’ve spoken to his wife Cathy directly and to Steve by email and they are absolutely terrified of being made scapegoats for all this which would be totally unfair.”
Mr Walsh was discharged from St Thomas’ Hospital today after being analysed in its isolation unit.
The sales executive, 53, said: “I’m happy to be home and feeling well.
“I want to give a big thank you to the NHS who have been great throughout and my thoughts are with everyone around the world who continues to be affected by the virus.
“It’s good to be back with my family and I would ask you please to respect our privacy from this point on”.
As well as schools, the County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton, East Sussex, was closed while staff in hazmat suits deep cleaned the surgery.
Meanwhile, a second doctor’s surgery in the city — the Lions Dene surgery — linked to super-spreader Mr Walsh, closed.
‘SUPER-SPREADER’
The dad of two caught the virus at a conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore organised by Servomex, a British gas analytics company.
After the conference, he had a holiday in the French Alps with wife Catherine and pals.
Four of his friends — including Dr Catriona Greenwood and another GP — returned home on January 24 before testing positive at the weekend.
Five more Brits who shared the ski chalet, including Dr Greenwood’s husband Bob Saynor and their nine-year-old son, are in hospital in France.
Another expat also infected with the virus fell ill after returning home to Majorca, taking the number of confirmed cases linked to Mr Walsh to 11.
It is thought any patients Dr Greenwood came into contact with will be approached for testing.
She works as a locum at the practice which has since been shut for decontamination as officials scramble to trace patients to be tested.
‘DRUG KING PIN’ COLLAPSES
Meanwhile an alleged drug kingpin is at the centre of a suspected corona-virus outbreak at a high-security jail.
Mark Rumble, 31, arrived back in the UK on January 27 after being extradited from Thailand to face charges of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
He collapsed in his cell at category B HMP Bullingdon, near Bicester, Oxfordshire, days later.
Tonight hundreds of inmates were confined to their cells as panic spread.
An entire wing at the jail has been shut off with two cons now being tested for the deadly disease.
‘GLOBAL PANDEMIC’
Professor Neil Ferguson, from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College, London, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme the world was “in the early phases of a global pandemic at the moment”.
He said: “The fact we have only recorded eight cases in the UK is because our surveillance is focused on travellers.
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“We think probably we are picking up maybe one in three cases coming into the country at the current time.
“We will know more in the next few weeks.
“Surveillance has started across the UK in hospitals of pneumonia cases. That will give us a proper picture.”
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