GP practice in Brighton 'closes after staff member tests positive for coronavirus'

11 February 2020, 00:25 | Updated: 11 February 2020, 00:33

A GP office in Brighton has been closed suddenly after one of their staff members tested positive for coronavirus, it has been reported.

The County Oak Medical Centre currently has a sign in the door which says it is closed for "urgent operational health and safety reason".

People in hazmat suits have also been seen inside the centre.

It has not been made immediately clear if the individual is one of the eight people to have been confirmed to have the virus.

People who have been into the medical centre have been told to contact the NHS 111 service if they have any concerns, according to the BBC.

One man from Brighton has already been confirmed to have coronavirus, and has been taken to a London hospital where he is currently being held in isolation.

The death toll in mainland China has passed 1,000 people, health authorities announced early on Tuesday morning.

The daily number of deaths from the virus has also topped 100 for the first time as the virus continues to spread.

Earlier today, Public Health England announced the numbers of people in the UK to have the virus doubled overnight, going from four to eight.

It is thought the group came into contact with a so-called "super spreader", who has also been connected with cases in France and Spain.

It is thought he picked it up on a business trip to Singapore, but then stopped in a ski region of France on the journey back, where a further five Britons were subsequently taken ill with the virus.

The four adults and a nine-year-old child, who are not in a serious condition, were staying in the Alpine resort area of Contamines-Montjoie near Mont Blanc.

The new cases come as Health Secretary Matt Hancock declared coronavirus a "serious and imminent threat to public health" and said those who are diagnosed could be forcibly quarantined.

It is understand the decision was in response to one of the Britons who returned from Wuhan attempting to leave isolation.

A Government source said "there was someone who was threatening to abscond from Arrowe Park" despite all the Britons who returned on the evacuation flight signing a contract agreeing to a 14-day quarantine period, which ends this Thursday.

Some Britons who have returned to the UK have also been quarantined inside the Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, where staff have been seen gathered to welcome their new patients.

The total number of cases in mainland China has hit at 40,171 which was a 15% increase from Saturday.

Japan's health minister confirmed 60 more people, including one British national, on a quarantined cruise ship have tested positive for the virus with a total of 130 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess, quarantined in the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo, with officials previously saying 70 people had the virus among the 3,711 passengers and crew.

More than 3,600 people are still in a 14-day quarantine on board the ship.