The UK has said that the novel coronavirus outbreak constitutes a "serious and imminent threat to public health". It comes as the health department announced that four more patients had tested positive for the virus bringing the total number of cases in the country to eight.
"The new cases are all known contacts of a previously confirmed UK case, and the virus was passed on in France," Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said.
There are over 37,000 cases of the virus globally - most of them in China where the outbreak was first reported in December. Outside of China, the virus has appeared in 24 countries.
At least 791 people in the United Kingdom tested negative for the virus. The foreign office has advised UK citizens to leave China.
0 Comments