First coronavirus case confirmed in Northern Ireland

The Public Health Agency (PHA) announced the case at a briefing in Belfast tonight and said it was “working rapidly” to identify anyone the patient came into contact with to prevent a further spread.

The patient had recently returned from northern Italy and had previously been in Dublin.

The PHA would not confirm where their patient was being held.

Earlier on Thursday two other positive cases were confirmed in England.

It takes the total number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in the UK to 16.

Speaking at the Belfast press conference, Dr Michael McBride, chief medical officer for Northern Ireland, said the test outcome has now been sent to Public Health England laboratories for verification.

Dr McBride said: “We have been planning for the first positive case in Northern Ireland and have made clear that it was a question of when not if.

“We have robust infection control measures in place which enable us to respond immediately.

“Our health service is used to managing infections and would assure the public that we are prepared.

“Our advice to the public remains the same.

“Members of the public who have visited affected regions and have symptoms are advised to self-isolate at home and contact their GP in the first instance.”

He added: “Advice will then be given on next steps, including testing if required.

“We have now seen our first case in Northern Ireland of someone returning from northern Italy and that is not unexpected.

“We have well-trialled and tested methods for identifying people who have been in contact ... following up giving them advice and taking appropriate steps to protect the public.”

He added the case was not linked to a school trip to Italy.

As a precaution on Tuesday three NI schools – Banbridge Academy, Cambridge House in Ballymena, and Limavady Grammar – sent home pupils and staff who had recently returned from Italian skiing trips.

Another of the new cases, a parent at a Buxton primary school in Derbyshire, contracted the virus in Tenerife, where 168 Britons are being kept in a hotel on the south west of the island.

The third patient also contracted the virus in Italy, which has become the worst affected country in Europe with more than 400 cases and 14 deaths.

One of the patients in England has been taken to the specialist infectious diseases centre at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and the other to the Royal Free Hospital in London.

It comes as England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned that onward transmission between people in the UK was “just a matter of time in my view”.

Speaking at a Nuffield Trust summit, he said: “If this becomes a global epidemic then the UK will get it, and if it does not become a global epidemic, the UK is perfectly capable of containing and getting rid of individual cases leading to onward transmission.”

But he said onward transmission was likely, adding: “If it is something which is containable, the UK can contain it.

“If it is not containable, it will be non-containable everywhere and then it is coming our way.”

So far in the UK, 7,690 people have been tested for the virus and of the 16 to have tested positive, eight have so far been discharged from hospital.

Globally, Denmark was among those countries confirming their first cases on Thursday, while Saudi Arabia has stopped Muslim pilgrims entering to worship at the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

US experts have reported the first case of unknown origin, which suggests the virus is spreading there.

In China, where the virus originated, 78,497 cases have been reported, including 2,744 deaths.

After Brazil confirmed Latin America’s first case on Wednesday, the virus has reached every continent except Antarctica.