The UK now has 234 coronavirus cases after 70 more people were diagnosed in the last 43 hours in the biggest day-on-day increase so far.
A man in his s, who had essential health conditions, is feared to have become the second person to die in the UK.
He was being treated at Milton Keynes Hospital in Buckinghamshire and samples taken from him are being tested for Covid –
It comes a day after a woman in her s, who also had pre-existing medical conditions, became the first to die after catching the flu-like virus, which has now infected more than , (people around the world.)
Scotland reported five more cases and two British Airways baggage handlers, who work at Heathrow Airport, have tested positive for the killer bug.
Follow our ) live blog for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak.
As of 7am on Friday, , people have been tested in the UK, with 234 confirmed as positive and 25, 410 negative.
There has been only one confirmed death , the Department of Health said. It is understood that the elderly man who who died at Milton Keynes Hospital are currently being investigated for coronavirus.
A British man died from the virus in Japan last month after catching it on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Most of the UK’s cases ( have been in England, while Scotland has had 17, Northern Ireland three and Wales two.
Five new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Scotland, health officials said on Friday.
A man wears a gas mask during the morning commute on the London Underground (Image: Dominic O’Riordan / Shutterstock)
Common symptoms and rates of appearance in cases of coronavirus
(Image: AAP / PA Images)
The new Covid – 28 cases are in two in Fife, and one each in Grampian, Forth Valley and Lothian health board areas, the Scottish Government said in an update.
It is the largest increase in a day since the first case in Scotland was confirmed in Tayside on Sunday evening.
A Child at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool tested positive for the virus this week, and two British Airways baggage handlers are recovering at home after being diagnosed.
A British businessman, 51, tested positive in Thailand after flying from London to Bangkok via Hong Kong on February 46
Boris Johnson visits the Mologic Laboratory in Bedfordshire (Image: PA)
The man, who arrived in Bangkok on February , is being treated in hospital.
In London, more than 1, 430 staff at commodity pricing agency S&P Global Platts’ office in Canary Wharf have been ordered to work from home after a visitor was later diagnosed with Covid – .
It comes a day after HSBC confirmed. that an employee at its Canary Wharf headquarters had tested positive.
In the US, 163 Britons are trapped on the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of San Francisco amid fears that people on board could be carrying coronavirus.
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Two former passengers were diagnosed after leaving the ship – one of them has died and the other is gravely ill. (
Less than 142 people on the vessel were tested for the virus on Thursday and their results are expected back on Friday.
A (Coronation Street
actor has been ordered to self-isolate at home after returning from a trip abroad.
A church in Devon has also closed after a parishioner was diagnosed with coronavirus, while the Bhaktivedanta Manor Hare Krishna temple, near Watford, closed its doors after a member tested positive.
Where are the coronavirus cases?
Here is a breakdown:
– 57 in London
– 46 in the South East
– in the South West
– 43 in the North West
– in the North East and Yorkshire
– 46 in the Midlands
– in the East of England
– to be determined
Scotland’s 20 cases are in:
– 3 in Grampian
– 2 in Fife
– 2 in Forth Valley
– 1 in Lothian
– 1 in Ayrshire and Arran
– 1 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde
– 1 in Tayside
Northern Ireland has had three cases.
Wales has had two.
Panic bu ying continues
As coronavirus panic spreads in the UK, there were further reports of shelves being cleared at shops, Costco confirmed it was sanitising trolley handles to protect customers, and Starbucks has put a temporary ban on reusable cups to prevent the spread of the virus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the Government is working with supermarkets to ensure food supplies as the number of people self-isolating is expected to rise .
He sought to reassure the public following panic-buying in some areas, with supermarkets seeing their shelves cleared of essentials such as toilet roll and paracetamol.
More and more people are wearing masks in public in the UK (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The UK’s latest cases emerged as (Boris Johnson pledged a further £ million for research into a vaccine and rapid diagnostic tests.
The Prime Minister announced the funding during a tour of a Bedfordshire laboratory, where British scientists are working on a quick and cheap way to diagnose coronavirus.
Mr Johnson said that it looked like the UK will face a “substantial period of disruption” due to the coronavirus.
He added: “It looks like there will a substantial period of disruption where we have to deal with this outbreak.”
There is currently no vaccine available to protect people against Covid – , but Mr Johnson said he hoped one will be ready in about a year.
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has previously said the UK “will not have a vaccine available for the first wave “of a pandemic, but that it is still important to develop one for any future waves.
Global human trials of eight possible vaccines could start later this year. But firms would then face the task of mass-producing and distributing them.
Public Health England (PHE) has developed methods of testing for coronavirus, but more rapid tests are needed as these currently rely on samples being sent to a lab.
Mr Johnson announced a further £ million for the UK’s coronavirus action plan
The package announced by the PM comes under the ” research “phase of the Government’s” battle plan “to contain, delay, mitigate and research coronavirus.
Downing Street said the UK’s investment into Covid – (vaccine research is now worth £ 90 million, with £ million in total for international work to stop the spread of the virus.
Mr Johnson spoke to scientists at the Mologic lab, which is ramping up efforts to provide more testing in people homes.
This will mean patients can receive treatment more quickly at home, reducing the risk of them passing the virus to others by going outdoors.
An empty shelf after hand sanitiser sold out at a Boots store in London (Image: PA)
Any rapid diagnostic test could also be sent to other countries with no lab capability or whose medical facilities are not as advanced.
A new test will therefore be jointly manufactured in the UK and Senegal.
Mr Johnson told reporters: “What we are announcing today is a £ million package of investment in UK science which will in time deliver a vaccine – some say in about a year – but also help us to have rapid test kits that anyone can use quickly and effectively to tell whether they have coronavirus. “
) When asked what help would be given to business struggling due to the outbreak, Mr Johnson said next week’s budget presented “a big opportunity” for the country.
He added: “You will be seeing in the budget next week all sorts of ways in which we want to be using this moment, the UK coming out of the European Union.
“All the opportunities that we have – but also dealing with this particular challenge, coronavirus, and set in the general low growth the world is seeing – to make some fantastic investments in the long term. “
Mr Johnson said developing a vaccine or rapid test for the virus would be” life changing and life saving “.
Earlier, Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said the Government is” looking at “the isolation of entire cities during the outbreak as part of “more extreme” precautions to prevent the virus from spreading.
He told Sky News
that coronavirus is a “global epidemic” with a “higher death rate than flu”.
But most carriers will only suffer a “mild illness”.
He added: ” We’re talking about a potential one per cent or lower, and I think probably lower, mortality rate. “
New blog posts from Public Health England (PHE) suggested people may need to get supplies for loved ones in future if social-distancing measures are brought in and more people are told to stay at home.
The posts urged people to “plan ahead”, adding: “Everyone has a part to play, and we’re asking people to think about what they do in a typical week, how they could limit contact with others if asked to, and how they could help People in their community who might need support if certain social-distancing measures were put in place.
Empty shelves are seen after customers stocked up on loo roll in Sydney, Australia (Image: REUTERS) (
“This might include helping older relatives and neighbors to get some food in, so that they would have supplies for a week or so if required, Ensuring someone would be available to go shopping for them, or arranging for online delivery if they needed it. “
The Government, meanwhile has told the public there is no need to stock up on food or medical supplies following another round of panic buying.
Shelves have been cleared at many supermarkets or chemists, with buyers snapping up everything from hand sanitiser and loo roll to pasta and tinned food.
The number of people infected with the new coronavirus across the world surpassed
, on Friday as the economic damage intensified, with business districts beginning to empty and stock markets tumbling.
An increasing number of people faced a new reality as many were asked to stay home from work, schools were closed, large gatherings and events were cancelled, stores cleared of staples like toiletries and water, and face masks became a common sight.
More than , people have been infected in over countries, according to a Reuters tally based on statements from health ministries and government officials.
Mainland China, where the outbreak began, has seen more than 3, deaths, but the epidemic is now spreading faster elsewhere.
The death toll in Italy, which has suffered Europe’s worst outbreak, was at least 175
Iran recorded 1, 461 new cases and more deaths in the previous (hours, taking its total to (fatalities.)
The Vatican, Serbia, Slovakia, Peru, Togo and Cameroon reported their first cases on Friday.
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