Coronavirus: Fourth person dies in UK after contracting disease
Written by News on 09/03/2020
A fourth person has died in the UK after contracting coronavirus, says Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The victim was a woman in her 70s who had underlying health conditions and had been treated in a Wolverhampton hospital.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “I am very sorry to report that a fourth 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 privacy is respected.
“The patient, who was being treated at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital, was in their 70s and had underlying health conditions. It appears the virus was acquired in the UK and full contact tracing has begun.”
The number of confirmed infections in the UK has risen 46 to 319 over the last 24 hours, according to the latest government figures.
The previous day’s rise was 67.
Some 280 of the total coronavirus cases are in England, with London having the most at 61.
The figures reflect the situation at 9am on Monday and show that nearly 25,000 people have been tested so far.
Public Health Wales earlier confirmed two of the new cases, which it said they were not linked and that both people had recently been to Italy.
There are now six infected people in Wales.
Five of the new cases are in Scotland, taking the total there to 23.
On Sunday it was announced a man in his 60s, who tested positive for coronavirus, had died in North Manchester General Hospital.
Last week, a woman in 70s lost her life in hospital in Reading, Berkshire, while an 83-year-old man died while being treated at Milton Keynes University Hospital.
All four people who have died in the UK had pre-existing health conditions.
In the capital, Transport for London (TfL) said it was carrying out a “deep clean” of a Southwark office used by a worker who had tested positive.
The organisation did not specify their job, but the building is where it monitors London’s roads and controls the Tube network.
The latest figures come as Boris Johnson held an emergency COBRA meeting over the COVID-19 outbreak.
A Downing Street spokesperson said afterwards that the UK was still in the “contain” phase of dealing with the outbreak and was not yet moving to the “delay” stage.
Such a step would require agreement from England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
However, the spokesperson added that the government accepted the virus would spread in a significant way.
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(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Fourth person dies in UK after contracting disease
