Chesterfield Royal Hospital issues statement on coronavirus

It comes as a ninth patient in England tested positive for the deadly virus.

A statement on the Royal’s website says: “The NHS in Derbyshire and Public Health England (PHE) are extremely well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The NHS has put in place measures to ensure the safety of all patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.

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“The risk to the general public is moderate. If you have arrived back to the UK from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau within 14 days, follow the specific advice for returning travellers.

“Anyone who has travelled to China or places listed above in the last 14 days and develops symptoms of cough or fever or shortness of breath, should immediately stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu and call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the country.

“Like the common cold, coronavirus infection usually occurs through close contact with a person with novel coronavirus via cough and sneezes or hand contact. A person can also be infected by touching contaminated surfaces if they do not wash their hands,” the statement added.

Further information for residents is available from the Public Health England website.