A THIRD case of coronavirus has been confirmed by Public Health England today.
Figures published this afternoon show that across the UK, there have been 273 positive tests for the virus, of which three are in Wokingham borough.
In comparasion, there have been 23,240 negative tests in that time.
The Government data is only for numbers confirmed, and gives no further information as to where the person was diagnosed.
However, Public Health England undertakes contact tracing for all cases and, where appropriate, people are then tested.
On Saturday, February 29, it was confirmed that a staff member of Willow Bank Infants School had tested positive for the virus, and the school closed for a deep clean. It is due to reopen on Wednesday.
Public Health England then confirmed yesterday that a second case has been confirmed in Wokingham borough.
There have also been two confirmed cases in Bracknell Forest.
There have been none in Reading borough, although a patient who had been admitted to the Royal Berkshire Hospital with underlying health problems died after testing positive for the virus on Thursday.
There have been no cases in West Berkshire or Windsor and Maidenhead.
There are now 20 cases awaiting clarification.
Across the country, there has been 51 cases diganosed in London boroughs (up from 38 yesterday), 41 in south east boroughs (up from 30 yesterday) and 35 in the south west region (up from 25 yesterday).
Tavellers returning from the following countries are advised to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people if you’ve travelled to the UK from the following places in the last 14 days, even if you do not have symptoms:
- Iran
- Hubei province in China
- lockdown areas in northern Italy
- special care zones in South Korea
Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people if you’ve travelled to the UK from the following places in the last 14 days and have a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath, even if your symptoms are mild:
- mainland China outside of Hubei province
- Italy outside of the lockdown areas
- South Korea outside of the special care zones
- Cambodia
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam
Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next.
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said this morning: “We will do all we can to contain coronavirus, but as we know, COVID-19 is spreading across the world, so I want to ensure government is doing everything in its power to be ready to delay and mitigate this threat.
“Public safety is my top priority. Responding to coronavirus is a massive national effort and I’m working with colleagues across government to ensure we have a proportionate emergency bill, with the right measures to deal with the impacts of a widespread COVID-19 outbreak.
“We plan for the worst and work for the best, and the NHS is working 24/7 to fight this virus.
“Calls to NHS 111 have increased by more than a third and we have already put in place 500 extra staff to help with this increase.
“Every person has a role to play in managing the spread of COVID-19 – whether that’s washing your hands more often for 20 seconds or catching your sneezes.”
