Coronavirus: Three more people test positive in England, now totaling 23

The UK’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has confirmed three more people have tested positive for coronavirus in England, bring the total to 23.

The chief medical officer said two patients had returned from Italy and the other from Asia and are from Gloucester, Berkshire and Herefordshire.

Professor Whitty said, “All three are being investigated and contact tracing has begun.”

The UK has had its first known case of person to person transmission after a patient tested positive for coronavirus who had not travelled abroad.

Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said this marks a “new chapter” as there was “no known link to an affected area or known case.”

Professor Ball said, “It will be crucial to understand where the infection came from to try to prevent more extensive spread.”

Dr Stephen Griffin said, “If we experience a burgeoning epidemic as seen in South Korea it will represent a significant challenge to our already stretched NHS and public health infrastructure.”

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, MP for South West Surrey, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, “I’m aware of the report, but I’m going on the basis of what I’ve been told.

“I haven’t had any details of that and I think it would be wrong to comment on speculation in the press without that detailed advice from the chief medical officer.”

On Friday a British man died in Japan who had been a passenger onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was the first UK death of a British citizen reported in the world.

More than 10,000 people have been tested in the UK with 21 testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, with one in South Wales and another in Ireland.

The global number of people with coronavirus had grown to 85,000 with 2,850, mainly in mainland China.