Britain’s first death from the deadly coronavirus has been confirmed on Thursday afternoon. A woman had tested positive on Wednesday evening and has now died as he had “underlying health conditions.”
In 48-hours the cases of coronavirus have more than doubled to 115 across the UK.
A statement from Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said, “Sadly, we can confirm that an older patient with underlying health conditions has died.
“The patient has previously been in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons, but on this occasion was admitted and last night tested positive for coronavirus.
“The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
“We will not be commenting further and ask that everybody respects the family’s privacy.”
Downing Street said on Thursday evening, it is now “highly likely” that coronavirus will now spread in a “significant way.”
The British prime minister, Boris Johnson said, “his sympathies are with victim and their family,” however, the UK is “still in the contain phase” which is the first stage of the government’s response to the outbreak.
Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England said he is “very sorry” to hear of the death and offered his “sincere condolences” to the family.
Professor Whitty said, “I am very sorry to report a 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 request for privacy is respected.
“The patient, who was being treated at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, was an older patient who had underlying health conditions.
“We believe they contracted the virus in the UK and contact tracing is already underway.”
The news comes after the Department of Health announced 30 more cases of coronavirus, bringing the confirmed total in the UK to 115.
The Department of Health said of the new cases in England there are fears that community transmission may now be taking hold, through person to person contact.
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