A Third Person Has Died From Coronavirus In The UK

A third person has died from the Covid-19 coronavirus in the UK.

The patient, in his 60s, was treated in North Manchester General Hospital and had 'significant underlying health conditions'.

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England said: "I am very sorry to report that a third patient in England who tested positive for Covid-19 has sadly died. I offer my sincere condolences to their family and friends and ask that their privacy is respected.

"The patient, who was being treated at the North Manchester General Hospital, was over 60 years old and had significant underlying health conditions. They had recently travelled from an affected area. Contact tracing is already underway."

PA

Early today (8 March), the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK increased to 273.

The UK government issued an update on the figures, along with the number of people who have been tested

It said: "As of 9am on 8 March 2020, 23,513 people have been tested in the UK, of which 23,240 were confirmed negative and 273 were confirmed as positive."

The previous day's figure was 163, meaning it has increased by 110 cases.

Confirmed cases in each local authority are published by Public Health England (PHE).

The news comes after the Department of Health and Social Care updated its advice for those travelling back to the UK from Italy.

PA

It asked those arriving in the UK from the following 'lockdown areas' of Italy to self-isolate for 14 days: Lombardy region (which includes the cities of Milan, Bergamo, Como) and the provinces of Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini (all in Emilia Romagna); Pesaro e Urbino (in Marche); Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Vercelli (all in Piemonte); Padova. Treviso and Venice (in Veneto).

Anyone travelling to the UK from any of the above regions must self-isolate with or without symptoms. Anyone arriving from other regions of Italy is asked to self-isolate if they develop flu-like symptoms, however mild.

Anyone feeling unwell is reminded to use the NHS' 111 online coronavirus service and not to go a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

As of today, the Italian government placed 16 million citizens into quarantine until April, in the hopes of preventing the coronavirus from spreading.

The entire Lombardy region and 14 provinces have gone into lockdown until 3 April, according to Sky News.

Italy is one of the worst European countries to be affected by the virus. The country has now reported a total of 7,375 cases, with a total of 366 people having died from the infection.

Topics: uk news, coronavirus

Simon Fearn