As of 9 am today (Wednesday 4 March 2020), the number of cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK has jumped to 85.
This afternoon, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England, Professor Chris Whitty, announced that 32 new cases have been confirmed in England. The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 80.
Twenty-nine of the new patients had recently travelled from recognised countries or from recognised clusters which were under investigation. Three additional patients contracted the virus in the UK. The CMO says 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.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in Scotland has risen to three. The two new cases were confirmed overnight. One of the patients recently travelled to northern Italy and the other has had contact with a known positive case, although Scottish Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman said this contact was not with the first positive case confirmed in Scotland.
Northern Ireland and Wales have reported one case each.
