This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Coronavirus cases in the UK jump to 85
The government has announced that coronavirus cases in the UK have jumped by 34 in a day, taking total number to 85.
The Department for Health said in a statement: “29 patients were diagnosed who had recently travelled from recognised countries or from recognised clusters which were under investigation. Three additional patients contracted the virus in the UK and it is not yet clear whether they contracted it directly or indirectly from an individual who had recently returned from abroad. This is being investigated and contact tracing has begun.
“The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 80. Following previously reported confirmed cases in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, the total number of UK cases is 85.”
Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer who is helping to lead the government’s response, said the coronavirus was likely to be spreading undetected in the UK already, with health officials on the brink of moving into the phase of ‘delaying’ rather than trying to ‘contain’ transmission.
Whitty said: “If someone has imported a case and they are isolated, that isn’t community transmission. Even if someone gets it who we know about having the disease and it happens to be passed on in the UK, that also isn’t. It’s when it’s going from person to person to person and we pick it up. That’s what we mean by community transmission. It is likely that will happen if not now then very soon … I think it is likely to be happening at the moment, not definite.”
Hospitals have been asked to carry out more video-based consultations of patients to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus, with NHS England hoping that the move will reduce the number of people in hospitals and lower the potential for transmission.
Officials believe up to a fifth of the workforce may be off sick during the peak of an epidemic in the UK. To combat this, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also announced that workers will get statutory sick pay from the first day off work, not the fourth, to help contain the virus. The new policy will not help self-employed or gig economy workers, who may have to choose between losing pay during quarantine periods or carrying on with coronavirus symptoms.
In order to receive statutory sick pay (SSP) people must be earning at least £118 a week.
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