Don’t visit your GP if you think you have coronavirus, NHS says – stay home instead, self-isolate and ring 111
- Health chiefs want suspected coronovirus patients to self isolate and dial 111
- Officials fear attending a surgery or pharmacy will help spread the deadly virus
- So far 10,483 people have been tested in the UK with 23 positive cases
The NHS has warned patients who suspect they may have been infected with coronavirus to avoid their local GP or attend their pharmacy if they have visited a hotspot.
Instead, patients have been advised to self isolate and call the NHS hotline on 111.
According to the Department of Health, regions of concern include mainland China, Thailand, Japan South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau.
So far 23 Britons have tested positive for coronavirus out of a total 10,483 people who have been sampled according to the most recent figures from Public Health England
Chief Medical Officer Prof Chris Whitty, pictured, has advised people with symptoms to call 111 instead of going to their GP or local pharmacy
They also warn people who visited Northern Italy, Vietnam, Camodia, Laois or Myanmar since February 19 and experience symptoms – no matter how mild – to self isolate.
At 9am today, a total of 10,483 have been tested in the UK for coronovirus returning 23 positive results.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Chief Medical Officer Prof Whitty and Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Saturday, Downing Street said, amid three new cases of coronavirus reported in the UK.
The Prime Minister is receiving regular updates and there will be another call on Sunday, No 10 added.
It comes as the Government prepares to bring in new emergency powers to help stop the virus spreading.
The new regulations will give schools, councils and other parts of the public sector powers to suspend laws – including health and safety measures – to cope with a pandemic.
The three new cases on Saturday takes the total number in England up to 21, while there has been one confirmed case in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.
Wales’s chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherton said the first diagnosed patient in Wales had recently travelled back from Italy, the worst-affected country in Europe.