Four more Brighton and Hove residents have been diagnosed with coronavirus after coming into contact with the Hove father diagnosed last week.
Three men and one woman were transferred to the same London hospital the Hove father is being treated at.
All were infected while in France, where the man went for a skiing holiday after having been at a conference in Singapore also attended by a delegate from the centre of the outbreak, the Wuhan region of China.
The Guardian is reporting that one of the men is a doctor.
Public Health England says its priority is now speaking to anyone who had contact with the new cases to advise them how to stop the virus spreading further.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said: “Four further patients in England have tested positive for novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to eight.
“The new cases are all known contacts of a previously confirmed UK case, and the virus was passed on in France.
“Experts at Public Health England continue to work hard tracing patient contacts from the UK cases. They successfully identified these individuals and ensured the appropriate support was provided.
“The patients have been transferred to specialist NHS centres at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and The Royal Free hospitals, and we are now using robust infection control measures to prevent further spread of the virus.
“The NHS is extremely well prepared to manage these cases and treat them, and we are working quickly to identify any further contacts these patients have had.”
Dr Nick Phin, deputy director of National Infection Service at Public Health England, said: “These new cases are all closely linked and were rapidly identified through Public Health England’s comprehensive contact tracing approach and tested quickly.
“Our priority is speaking to those people who have had close and sustained contact with confirmed cases so that we can advise them on what they can do to limit the spread of the virus.”
