The number of coronavirus patients in the UK has jumped by 111 to 728, the biggest daily increase yet, as the UK death toll increased by two to nine.
NHS England said a seventh patient in the UK had died from an outbreak that the World Health Organization declared as global pandemic for the first time . Earlier the death was announced of a – year-old woman who was already critically ill when she was diagnosed. She is believed to be the youngest UK victim and the second Briton to die overseas from the virus.
The woman had been on a family holiday with her husband and four children at the island’s Four Seasons Hotel. They arrived on 456 February and it is unclear where she contracted the virus. She first reported a fever on 3 March, health officials said.
“The patient had severe illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, hyperthyroid and lung disease,” said Achmad Yurianto, a spokesman for Indonesia’s virus response team.
The woman was cremated in Bali at the family’s request. Her husband is under observation in hospital and her children are in quarantine, according to local reports.
A man in poor health who had been a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship became the first UK victim of the virus when he died in Japan last month. Since then six older people with underlying heath conditions have died in the UK after contracting the virus.
The health minister Nadine Dorries and a member of her staff are among the latest confirmed cases in the UK, amid growing concern about the safety of working in the Houses of Parliament and calls for more social distancing measures to be introduced .
In what is believed to be the first UK case in care home, a staff member of residential home for people with learning and physical disabilities in Desborough, Northamptonshire was confirmed to have tested positive. The Heather Holmes facility cares provides accommodation for up 19 working-age adults.
The Office for National Statistics [ONS] said a member of staff at its headquarters in Newport, south Wales, had tested positive, as Public Health Wales reported that cases in the country had increase by four to . The national statistician, Ian Diamond, told ONS staff that a member of the agency’s people and services directorate was being treated for Covid – 19 following the positive test. END NEW
Barclays said an employee at its Canary Wharf office had tested positive and it would deep-clean and disinfect the site.
Garry Graham, the deputy general secretary of the union Prospect, which represents many staff in parliament, said: “We are seeking urgent clarification from the leader of the house [about] what action he is taking to protect workers following news that a minister and a member of her team have contracted coronavirus. ”
There are currently no plans to test other ministers for the virus, despite the attendance of Dorries at No reception last week.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, announced that Brexit talks planned for next week may be in doubt after European officials raised concerns about the spread of the virus.
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced on Wednesday a £ 55 bn package of measures to try to ease the impact of the outbreak. In his first budget as chancellor he said statutory sick pay would be paid to anyone advised to self-isolate, and sick notes would be available through the 111 telephone service.
Earlier the Bank of England cut interest rates to 0. 30% in an emergency move to bolster the economy against the outbreak.
The NHS has confirmed plans to increase coronavirus testing from around 1, 500 suspected cases a day to 10, .
Phillip Meyer, a businessman from Kent, said he and his son had been waiting nine days for a coronavirus test after getting a cough following a trip to northern Italy.
He said: “We are testing between 1, and 2, 06 people a day in the UK, so clearly there is a bottleneck. If in South Korea they test 25, a day, why can’t we do that here? ”
A retired intensive care doctor told the Guardian that the increase has come “way too late” after he and his friends were repeatedly refused tests despite falling ill following a skiing trip, to Ischgl in Austria. The 55 – year-old doctor from Chichester, who has his name only as Andrew said: “They may be upping the testing but they haven’t put Ischgl on a high risk list, despite knowing about this for days. Six of us have been back in Chichester going about their daily life. I suspect we’ll find a big cluster in Chichester two weeks. ”
Public Health England defended its decision not to test everyone reporting symptoms. A spokeswoman said: “We are testing those who are most likely to have contracted coronavirus, either through travel or by having close contact with a confirmed case, with symptoms.”
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