This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Flu patients in UK to be tested for coronavirus
Public Health England medical director Prof Paul Cosford has said that tests for coronavirus are being increased to include people displaying flu-like symptoms at 11 hospitals and 100 GP surgeries across the UK.
The tests will provide an ‘early warning’ if the virus is spreading, following calls for heightened vigilance because of the apparent spread of the virus in countries outside mainland China. Recently, Italy recorded more than 300 cases.
Until now, people were tested only if they displayed symptoms having recently returned from one of the countries where there has been an outbreak, including China, South Korea and northern Italy. However, Cosford said Public Health England was now working with hospitals and GP surgeries to conduct random tests.
They will target some patients with coughs, fevers or shortness of breath, regardless of whether they have travelled to a place where the virus is spreading. However, Cosford stressed that the UK was still in the ‘containment’ phase of dealing with the coronavirus, and told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that efforts to identify and isolate people with the virus returning to the UK were ‘working really quite well’.
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