Doctors and health chiefs have shared warnings about the new coronavirus across Brighton and Hove after the first local case was confirmed yesterday (Thursday 6 February).
Notices from Public Health England have been posted at surgeries in Chinese and English, saying: “A new infection has been detected in Wuhan, China.”
The notices refer to the strain as novel coronavirus and say: “If you have been to Wuhan, China, in the last 14 days and develop any of these symptoms, contact a healthcare professional
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Fever
- Difficulty breathing
“If you develop symptoms within 14 days of travel to Wuhan, please stay indoors and avoid contact with others where possible.
“Ring 111 or call your GP and tell them that you have travelled to Wuhan, for free advice and treatment.”
And some surgeries are texting patients, such as the Preston Park Surgery, which sent a message this morning saying: “New advice from Public Health.
“If you have visited China, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau in the last 14 days and are concerned about any respiratory symptoms or fever, please isolate yourself and call 111. Please do not visit your GP surgery.”
Public Health England said: “We are asking people to take simple, common-sense steps to avoid close contact with other people as much as possible, like they would with other flu viruses.”
At a special meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board yesterday morning, Councillor Clare Moonan said: “Currently there are no reported cases in the city.
“Public Health England is taking the lead on this pandemic and we get a daily update.
“The update from (Wednesday) 5 February was: ‘The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed that 468 tests have been carried out in the UK.
“‘Of these, only two patients have tested positive for coronavirus.’
“There are no cases in Brighton and Hove. The current risk to the UK population remains low.
“The latest information is updated at 2pm daily at www.gov.uk/coronavirus.”
