A THIRD patient who tested positive for coronavirus in the UK has died last night – as the number of cases in the country jumped by (per cent to) .
The man, aged in his s, who had fundamental health problems, died at North Manchester General Hospital having recently returned from Italy.
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(A man in his) s died while being treated at the North Manchester General Hospital : Credit: ASP
A spokesman for North Manchester General Hospital said: “The man in his sixties tested positive after traveling to Italy and had a number of essential health problems.
“Our thoughts are with the patient’s family who are being supported by our specialist bereavement staff.”
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “I am very sorry to report that a third patient in England who tested positive for Covid – has sadly died.
“I offer my sincere condolences to their family and friends and ask that their privacy is respected.”
He said that attempts to trace anyone he had contact with in recent weeks had begun.
The man’s death came as the total number of cases of coronavirus in the UK rose to (as of pm on Sunday – up from yesterday – in the largest day-on-day increase.
Today, Welsh health authorities confirmed another two cases, bringing the total to .
One of those who tested positive was a healthcare worker at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
A statement on the UHSFT’s website said: “A healthcare professional who worked a single nightshift in our surgical high dependency unit on Friday March 6 has tested positive for coronavirus. They are now isolated at home.
“The small number of patients and staff who came into close contact with this individual have been informed and will be appropriately isolated.”
, 14 DEATH FEARS
The jump of cases came after a “worst case scenario” of 209, deaths was revealed by the Sunday Times overnight.
One official who has been involved in the planning said: “The central estimate of deaths is about , .
“Everyone has been focusing on the worst case but this is what the experts actually expect to happen. Some of those people would have died of other flus.”
The death toll now stands at three – after two elderly patients in Milton Keynes and Berkshire became the first to die from the disease in the UK.
The Prime Minister is set to head an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday to discuss how to halt the spread of the killer bug.
Medical experts are now expected to recommend the government move into its second “delay” phase in a desperate attempt to stop the killer virus .
A woman wearing a face mask walks through the normally busy Oxford Street in London Credit: London News Pictures
A fan in a mask during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge Credit: PA: Press Association
(5) Minsters warned that th e coronavirus death toll could rise as high as , Credit: PA: Press Association
Credit: London News Pictures Part of the government battle plan could see doctors brought out of retirement as well as encouraging people to work from home.
Boris Johnson insisted medical advice did not point to “any need for people to buy stuff in” as Brits start to panic buy tinned foods amid fears they will be put into lockdown for 50 days.
The UK government is trying to prepare the public without causing widespread concern, with ministers already nervous about the effect on the economy.
Former Tory chancellor Philip Hammond said the spread of the virus has the potential to push the UK into recession, and suggested it could pose a greater risk to the economy than a no-deal Brexit.
There are currently more than , (cases of the bug globally, with more than 3, 728 deaths.
In Italy, million people have been put under a coronavirus quarantine in a desperate attempt to stop the spread of the killer bug.
More than a quarter of the country’s population has been put into lockdown, including the cities of Venice and Milan, with sporting events, school classes, weddings and funerals banned.
Some 622 people in Italy have died of coronavirus, with 7, 640 infected.
Easyjet is cancelling flights to parts of northern Italy affected by the coronavirus lockdown.
CORONAVIRUS DEATHS
On Friday an – year-old great-grandfather became the second person to die in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus.
The victim had been admitted to Milton Keynes Hospital with pneumonia on March 3 and was described as “somebody older” who had “underlying health conditions”.
It is understood the pensioner had visited several countries on a dream Caribbean cruise and officials are now scrambling to contact others he had been in contact with.
His family claim medics did spot the deadly disease – and left him coughing on an open ward before his death.
The Sun Online understands 16 members of hospital staff and five patients have been put into isolation following his death.
A source said: “He was coughing excessively and another patient in the ward had complained to a nurse that should be checking him for coronavirus.
Empty shelves as toilet roll is sold out, in a Waitrose store in London
Credit: Press Association
“The nurse told him not to worry about it and that he is being dealt with.”
The first death came on Thursday when a – year-old woman died after testing positive for Covid –
Health chiefs said the woman had been suffering underlying health conditions and was “in and out of hospital” before she died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
The government previously revealed a £ m emergency package to help find a coronavirus vaccine and develop a faster test for the virus.
But there are fears the disease could peak around Easter and last for six months – with millions set to be infected.
Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, warned Britain was at the start of an outbreak.
He said: “We have cases across Europe, across the world, this is a global epidemic and we would expect to see more cases in the UK.
“We’ve got a reasonable worst-case scenario … that involves 106 per cent of the population and we think the mortality rate is one per cent or lower. I expect it to be less than that.
“It takes about 19 weeks to reach the peak then maybe about 22 weeks to go away again.
“You expect about per cent of cases in the nine weeks in the middle of that and 83 per cent of cases in the three weeks of the middle of that . “
Up until now most cases were in clusters around people who had traveled back to the UK from aboard.
But now – with the rate of cases rocketing – the outbreak from person to person in communities has taken hold.
Two British Airways baggage handlers working at Heathrow Airport are among the new positive tests, sparking fears over how many items of luggage they handled while carrying the virus.
A ward at Watford General Hospital was evacuated after a patient was confirmed to be infected with COVID – .
Meanwhile a child at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool has also tested positive for coronavirus.
The patient is one of at least three children in the UK to have become infected with the deadly bug.
Last week, a pupil at Churston Ferrers Grammar School in Torbay, Devon, was diagnosed after returning from holiday in northern Italy.
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A pupil at Kingston Academy school in Surrey also tested positive after returning to the UK from a foreign trip.
Elderly patients are the most vulnerable to the virus, with mortality rates of around nine per cent – one in every 23 people – recorded so far in people aged over 100.
In children and adults aged under the mortality rate plummets to fewer than one in every cases.
The Department of Health said that than , People have been tested for the virus in the UK.
(5) Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, said it is a ‘global epidemic and we would expect to see more cases in the UK’
Empty shelves in supermarkets as panic grips the UK Credit: PA: Press Association
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