IT’S business as usual at Warrington hospital after the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the town and the global outbreak now officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
Health chiefs are warning people showing symptoms of the virus to stay at home and ring 111 and not to visit the hospital or their GP
Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson, Chief Nurse and Director for Infection Prevention and Control at Warrington & Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said:”We will not be commenting on any patients who have been screened at our hospitals for Covid-19 or staff exposure to any potential cases. This is for both patient and staff confidentiality reasons.
“Confirmed cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) are notified by Public Health England through their regular updates.
“Like all NHS organisations we are working with Public Health England and have practised and prepared our response to any possible COVID-19 coronavirus threat. We follow tried and tested procedures, following the highest safety standards possible for the protection of our staff, patients and the public.
“If you are experiencing symptoms that concern you, please don’t come to hospital or go to your GP practice. Please stay indoors, avoid contact with others and ring NHS 111 for advice. Our hospitals are running as usual and you should continue to use services as normal and as appropriate.”
Meanwhile the global coronavirus outbreak has been labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold over the past two weeks.
He said he was “deeply concerned” by “alarming levels of inaction” over the virus.
A pandemic is a disease spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time.
However Dr Tedros said that calling the outbreak a pandemic did not mean the WHO was changing its advice about what countries should do.
He called on governments to change the course of the outbreak by taking “urgent and aggressive action”.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK is now approaching 500, after the biggest rise in a single day.
Six patients with coronavirus have died in hospitals in the UK, all with underlying health conditions..
For more information on Coronavirus please visit the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
