Coronavirus: Cruise ship turned away from five countries allowed to dock in Cambodia

Confirmation is in: the Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed over the outbreak of coronavirus. The sport’s governing body, FIA and F1, issued a statement this morning over the event, which was due to take place on April 19, saying:

As a result of continued health concerns and with the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus as a global health emergency, the FIA and Formula 1 have taken these measures in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains of primary concern.”

Outside Worthing hospital on Wednesday morning, patient Charlotte Hewitt said “nobody’s panicking” over the confirmation that a healthcare worker there has tested positive for coronavirus.

The 18 year-old was originally admitted as a day patient but kept in with an unrelated illness, told the Guardian: “There is one room inside boxed off but aside from that everyone is calm inside. I don’t even see anyone visiting or any of the patients wearing masks. All you are being asked to do is constantly wipe your hands with gel if you out and when you come back in again. I am not worried about being treated inside the hospital because everything seems to be under control.”

Nearly seven in 10 people in the UK support travel bans to coronavirus-infected countries and stopping flights to and from China, according to a poll that demonstrates the country is in favour of strong containment measures.

Eighty-seven per cent of people in the UK back mandatory screening for those travelling from infected countries and 84% support quarantine for those infected.

Meanwhile, 68% of approximately 1,000 people surveyed by Ipsos Mori last week are in favour of stopping flights to and from China and imposing travel bans to countries where people have been infected.

The poll, which also surveyed the views of people across seven other major economies, found that more than one in two people in Japan (66%) and more than half of those in Australia (61%) and the US (55%) are concerned about the threat of the outbreak.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among a slew of airliners to suspend flights to China.

This new survey shows there is significant concern about Coronavirus across the world and most people in the eight countries we surveyed do not feel that the virus has been contained. The majority of Britons support strong measures like banning flights, imposing quarantine for those infected and locking down transport systems to prevent the spread.

This virus is likely to have a widespread impact upon the globe – on people’s health, but also, potentially, on the global economy, as supply chains are so much more interlinked than they were at the time of the Sars outbreak.”

The Ipsos survey was conducted online from 7-9 February among 8,001 adults aged 16-74 in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US.

Cruise ship turned away from five countries finally allowed to dock in Cambodia

A cruise ship that has been turned away from five countries over coronavirus fears despite having no sick passengers has finally been allowed to dock in Cambodia.

The MS Westerdam, which has 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, will dock at Sihanoukville on Thursday, where those onboard will be allowed off, the Holland America Line has confirmed.

The ship has already been turned away from Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Guam and the Philippines.

A British honeymooner who caught coronavirus on a cruise ship says he has since tested negative for the disease.

Alan Steele was moved to a hospital last Friday from the Diamond Princess cruise ship stationed off the coast of Japan after he was diagnosed with coronavirus.

But on Wednesday he announced he has since tested negative for the disease and hopes to be released from quarantine pending a second test.

“Just received great news … my test showed negative to virus and have now been swabbed for 2nd test if that comes back negative I get released,” Steele posted on Facebook. His wife, Wendy, is still onboard the ship.

A&E worker with coronavirus treated patients for two days before diagnosis

An A&E worker who tested positive for coronavirus treated patients for two days before being diagnosed, according to a memo sent to hospital staff.

The staffer at Worthing hospital, who was confirmed to have the virus yesterday, is one of eight people in the UK with the disease.

The healthcare worker treated “a small number of patients” on 4-5 February, according to . The memo says:

It has been confirmed that a healthcare professional who works regularly in the Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) at Worthing hospital has tested positive for coronavirus (2019-nCov).

They treated a small number of patients on 4th and 5th February before they became unwell, followed advice and self isolated. Public Health England is contacting all patients seen by this healthcare worker, and all colleagues who came into contact with them, to advise on the precautions they need to take. The risk to other staff is extremely low.

The hospital is also following PHE guidance and all services are operating normally.”

In a separate case, a locum doctor working in Brighton and Hove is also understood to have tested positive for coronavirus. All NHS services in the city are running, it has been confirmed.

Two GP practices had closed yesterday for cleaning over coronavirus fears but are now open with some appointment disruption. A spokesman for NHS Brighton and Hove CCG added: “All other NHS services in Brighton and Hove are open as usual and measures are in place to ensure the safety of all patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.

“Following the announcement last week that one of the confirmed 2019 novel Coronavirus cases in the UK is from the Brighton and Hove area, Public Health England is carrying out a thorough risk assessment to trace this individual’s movements in the last fortnight.”