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A third person in the UK has tested positive for coronavirus, England’s Chief Medical Officer has said.
Professor Chris Whitty said the person, who did not contract the virus in the UK, is currently being transferred to one of the UK’s four infectious diseases centres for treatment.
Two other patients are still being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary infectious diseases centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.
In a statement, Prof Whitty said: “A further patient has tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to three.
“The individual did not acquire this in the UK.
“The patient is being transferred to a specialist NHS centre, and we are using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus.
“The NHS is well prepared to manage these cases and we are now working quickly to identify any contacts the patient has had.”
It comes as the Chinese ambassador to the UK warned against “rumours and panic” over coronavirus.
Speaking to reporters in London, Liu Xiaoming called on the UK Government to support China in its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, but insisted that relations between Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the UK Prime Minister were good.
He said: “It is of hope that governments of all countries, including the UK, should understand and support China’s efforts, avoid overreaction, avoid creating panic, and ensure normal co-operation and exchanges between countries.”
Earlier, Mr Liu tweeted that the UK should respect the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has warned against travel and trade restrictions on China.
The Foreign Office in the UK has advised Britons in China to leave if they are able to.
Wuhan, China: Coronavirus – In pictures
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A patient covered with a bed sheet at an exhibition centre converted into a hospital as it starts to accept patients displaying mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan
AFP via Getty Images
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The Costa Smeralda cruise ship of Costa Crociere, carrying around 6,000 passengers, is docked at the Italian port of Civitavecchia after a health alert due to a Chinese couple and a possible link to coronavirus on board, in Civitavecchia, Italy
Reuters
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A medical official takes the body temperature of a man at the departure hall of the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China
Reuters
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Officers in protective gear escort a person who was on board cruise ship Diamond Princess and had tested positive for coronavirus
Reuters
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Quarantine Officials on the Diamond Princess cruise ship
PA
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A chartered passenger jet carrying evacuated citizens from China taxis on the runway after landing at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
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Getty Images
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A police vehicle enters the gates of the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
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A plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, arrives at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire
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Passengers wear face masks as the push their luggage after arriving from a flight at Terminal 5 of London Heathrow Airport
AFP via Getty Images
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French citizens arrive and settle aboard of an evacuation plane with destination southeastern France, before departure from Wuhan Airport (WUH), China
AFP via Getty Images
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Staff members of a funeral parlour wearing protective suits disinfecting a colleague after they transferred a body at a hospital in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province, during the virus outbreak in the city
AFP via Getty Images
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Base personnel patrol inside a gate at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
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A member of staff at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside prepares for a bus carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
PA
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Police stand at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge that crosses from Hubei province in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China
REUTERS
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An ambulance carrying a South Korea citizen repatriated from Wuhan, China who has shown flu-like symptoms during in-flight screening for novel coronavirus leaves Gimpo airport
Getty Images
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Coaches enter RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where a plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
PA
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Medical staff walk to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases building at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore
AFP via Getty Images
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Passengers wearing face masks are seen on a bus after disembarking from the Costa Smeralda cruise ship, after tests on a woman from Macau with suspected coronavirus came back negative, in Civitavecchia, Italy
Reuters
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Empty racks where face masks are usually sold at a DIY store in west London. Pharmacies are working to boost stocks as demand for face masks in the UK appears to be on the rise amid fears about the coronavirus
PA
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Workers produce masks at the Thai Hospital Product Company Ltd. factory in Bangkok
AFP via Getty Images
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People hoard bottles of alcohol after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
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A man hoards the last few bottles of alcohol left in a pharmacy, after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
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Taking precautions: with fears growing that the coronavirus will spread from China, a health official checks a woman’s temperature on the underground in Beijing
Getty Images
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An empty road is seen in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province on January 27, 2020, amid a deadly virus outbreak which began in the city
AFP via Getty Images
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Passengers in the arrivals concourse at Heathrow Terminal 4, London, as the Government’s Cobra committee is meeting in Downing Street to discuss the threat to the UK from coronavirus
PA
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Students wearing masks meditate prior to a lesson at a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
AP
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An arrivals board showing a cancelled flight from Wuhan to Heathrow Terminal 4, London, as the Government’s Cobra committee is meeting in Downing Street to discuss the threat to the UK from coronavirus
PA
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Paramilitary police wear face masks as they stand guard at Tiananmen Gate adjacent to Tiananmen Square in Beijing
AP
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Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital wear protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus
AFP via Getty Images
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Staff move bio-waste containers past the entrance of the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where some infected with a new virus are being treated, in Wuhan, China
AP
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Buddhist monks wear masks as they walk near Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodi
AP
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Workers driving excavators at the construction site of a field hospital In Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The builders will complete the 1,000-bed hospital by February 3 to cope with the surge of 2019-nCoV patients in the city
Getty Images
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A woman and a child wearing protective masks walk toward check-in counters at Daxing international airport in Beijing
AFP via Getty Images
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Medical staff transfer a patient suspected of having the new coronavirus at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong
Reuters
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Pedestrians wear face masks as they walk outside the New Orient Landmark hotel in Macau
AFP via Getty Images
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A Chinese passenger checked for a fever by a health worker at a Beijing railway station
Getty Images
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An employee works to prevent a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
AP
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A policeman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan
Reuters
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Excavators at the construction site of a new hospital being built to treat patients from a deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province. – China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken hundreds of people, state media reported on January 24. (Photo b
AFP via Getty Images
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An employee sprays disinfectant on a train as a precaution against a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
AP
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Medical staff carry a box as they walk at the Jinyintan hospital
Reuters
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CDC/Dr Fred Murphy
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that have a halo, or crown-like (corona) appearance when viewed under an electron microscope
CDC/Dr Fred Murphy
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The resident wear masks to buy vegetables in the market in Wuhan
Getty Images
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Staff sell masks at a Yifeng Pharmacy in Wuhan
AP
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Masked workers disinfect a passenger throughfare at the Taoyuan International Airport
AFP via Getty Images
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A rescue worker walks past a notice about the virus that has broken out in China
Reuters
1/47
A patient covered with a bed sheet at an exhibition centre converted into a hospital as it starts to accept patients displaying mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan
AFP via Getty Images
2/47
The Costa Smeralda cruise ship of Costa Crociere, carrying around 6,000 passengers, is docked at the Italian port of Civitavecchia after a health alert due to a Chinese couple and a possible link to coronavirus on board, in Civitavecchia, Italy
Reuters
3/47
A medical official takes the body temperature of a man at the departure hall of the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China
Reuters
4/47
Officers in protective gear escort a person who was on board cruise ship Diamond Princess and had tested positive for coronavirus
Reuters
5/47
Quarantine Officials on the Diamond Princess cruise ship
PA
6/47
A chartered passenger jet carrying evacuated citizens from China taxis on the runway after landing at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
7/47
Getty Images
8/47
A police vehicle enters the gates of the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
9/47
A plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, arrives at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire
10/47
Passengers wear face masks as the push their luggage after arriving from a flight at Terminal 5 of London Heathrow Airport
AFP via Getty Images
11/47
French citizens arrive and settle aboard of an evacuation plane with destination southeastern France, before departure from Wuhan Airport (WUH), China
AFP via Getty Images
12/47
Staff members of a funeral parlour wearing protective suits disinfecting a colleague after they transferred a body at a hospital in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province, during the virus outbreak in the city
AFP via Getty Images
13/47
Base personnel patrol inside a gate at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
AFP via Getty Images
14/47
A member of staff at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside prepares for a bus carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
PA
15/47
Police stand at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge that crosses from Hubei province in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China
REUTERS
16/47
An ambulance carrying a South Korea citizen repatriated from Wuhan, China who has shown flu-like symptoms during in-flight screening for novel coronavirus leaves Gimpo airport
Getty Images
17/47
Coaches enter RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where a plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
PA
18/47
Medical staff walk to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases building at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore
AFP via Getty Images
19/47
Passengers wearing face masks are seen on a bus after disembarking from the Costa Smeralda cruise ship, after tests on a woman from Macau with suspected coronavirus came back negative, in Civitavecchia, Italy
Reuters
20/47
Empty racks where face masks are usually sold at a DIY store in west London. Pharmacies are working to boost stocks as demand for face masks in the UK appears to be on the rise amid fears about the coronavirus
PA
21/47
Workers produce masks at the Thai Hospital Product Company Ltd. factory in Bangkok
AFP via Getty Images
22/47
People hoard bottles of alcohol after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
23/47
A man hoards the last few bottles of alcohol left in a pharmacy, after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
24/47
Taking precautions: with fears growing that the coronavirus will spread from China, a health official checks a woman’s temperature on the underground in Beijing
Getty Images
25/47
An empty road is seen in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province on January 27, 2020, amid a deadly virus outbreak which began in the city
AFP via Getty Images
26/47
Passengers in the arrivals concourse at Heathrow Terminal 4, London, as the Government’s Cobra committee is meeting in Downing Street to discuss the threat to the UK from coronavirus
PA
27/47
Students wearing masks meditate prior to a lesson at a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
AP
28/47
An arrivals board showing a cancelled flight from Wuhan to Heathrow Terminal 4, London, as the Government’s Cobra committee is meeting in Downing Street to discuss the threat to the UK from coronavirus
PA
29/47
Paramilitary police wear face masks as they stand guard at Tiananmen Gate adjacent to Tiananmen Square in Beijing
AP
30/47
Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital wear protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus
AFP via Getty Images
31/47
Staff move bio-waste containers past the entrance of the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where some infected with a new virus are being treated, in Wuhan, China
AP
32/47
Buddhist monks wear masks as they walk near Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodi
AP
33/47
Workers driving excavators at the construction site of a field hospital In Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The builders will complete the 1,000-bed hospital by February 3 to cope with the surge of 2019-nCoV patients in the city
Getty Images
34/47
A woman and a child wearing protective masks walk toward check-in counters at Daxing international airport in Beijing
AFP via Getty Images
35/47
Medical staff transfer a patient suspected of having the new coronavirus at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong
Reuters
36/47
Pedestrians wear face masks as they walk outside the New Orient Landmark hotel in Macau
AFP via Getty Images
37/47
A Chinese passenger checked for a fever by a health worker at a Beijing railway station
Getty Images
38/47
An employee works to prevent a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
AP
39/47
A policeman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan
Reuters
40/47
Excavators at the construction site of a new hospital being built to treat patients from a deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province. – China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken hundreds of people, state media reported on January 24. (Photo b
AFP via Getty Images
41/47
An employee sprays disinfectant on a train as a precaution against a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
AP
42/47
Medical staff carry a box as they walk at the Jinyintan hospital
Reuters
43/47
CDC/Dr Fred Murphy
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that have a halo, or crown-like (corona) appearance when viewed under an electron microscope
CDC/Dr Fred Murphy
44/47
The resident wear masks to buy vegetables in the market in Wuhan
Getty Images
45/47
Staff sell masks at a Yifeng Pharmacy in Wuhan
AP
46/47
Masked workers disinfect a passenger throughfare at the Taoyuan International Airport
AFP via Getty Images
47/47
A rescue worker walks past a notice about the virus that has broken out in China
Reuters
Mr Liu’s tweet said: “WHO has reiterated that it disapproves of and is even against overreaction to the epidemic, including travel and trade restrictions on China.
“We hope the UK will respect the professional advice of WHO and ensure the normal co-operation and exchanges between China and the UK.”
Meanwhile, a British man who is among 3,700 people being quarantined on a cruise ship in Japan has voiced concerns over ongoing monitoring for the disease on board and what his fate will be when he returns to the UK.
David Abel, of Northamptonshire, praised cruise line Princess Cruises for its handling of the situation so far, but said fears remain about efforts to fight the disease on the ship.
Health workers in the port city of Yokohama said on Thursday that 10 more people on the Diamond Princess had tested positive for the disease, in addition to 10 others on Wednesday when the ship was ordered to be isolated.
