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Coronavirus has been hitting the news globally as more and more cases of the virus are being diagnosed around the world.

Known as Covid-19, the virus' spread from China has caused the World Health Organization to issue a global emergency to halt its progress.

Nine people have so far contracted it in the UK after 3,109 tests have been carried out. In China around 1,770 are thought to have died so far while around 70,500 people have contracted it in the country.

And Bath has been in the spotlight recently due to the news that a member of the Bath University community was being tested for the virus, which proved to be negative.

Coronavirus remains in the headlines, but what do we really know about it and what are people's thoughts about it?

We asked walkers in Victoria Park on their opinion of the outbreak, and how it has affected them.

(Image: AP)

The ex-NHS staff member

Ex-NHS employee Nicki said: “I think the media’s turning it into major crisis. Flu kills, but listening to the Today program I just think ‘calm down everybody!’

“If it hits us, it hits us, you’ve got to die of something!

"As long as they’re doing self-quarantine and washing their hands and not coughing on me that often, that'll be fine! I can't be more laid back about it.

“I probably wouldn’t choose to go to China, because that's just self-preservation and being sensible. I think everyone should calm down and listen to the experts, maybe with a few reservations.

(Image: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

“Evidence can be used as to whether we need it or not, according to whether austerity is top priority, then evidence goes completely out the window! Oh sorry, am I being cynical?

“That poor guy who's the super spreader. For goodness sake, he did everything he was supposed to. Why is it on the front page? It’s like he’s got a sexually transmitted disease.

“We talk about false news, but the press are the ones to blame at large. If we used reasoned arguments and debate then people would be less likely to go off-piste to try and look for fake news."

A concerned mother

A woman, who asked not to be named, said: “Obviously it concerns me because I’ve got children and family, but that hasn’t been confirmed and until it’s confirmed I’m not worried. I’m taking the necessary precautions.

“I think like everyone else, you do worry about these things and you just hope that it's contained and they’re doing the best they can. You do have to have a lot of trust with these things that are to do with the Government.”

University of Bath staff member

A member of staff at the University of Bath said: “What's striking for me is the underlying racism that it has triggered, which drives me mad in the context at the moment because it reinforces all the bad stuff.

“I work at the university and, at the moment, there's a suspicion of one case and even that’s not clear. So it's putting a bit of panic but with no backing, no one knows exactly what's going on.

(Image: AP)

“I've got some friends in Shenzhen, China who have had to leave. They've gone to Cambodia, and the school where they were working has been closed down completely. So they left and they're not allowed to come back in, until I think the 13th of March. She felt that the dealing of it in Indonesia was appalling.

“Over here, I know that some people are getting a bit more panicked by it. I have a friend who had an operation not long ago and she thought ‘Oh My God, what if there is something at the hospital!'!

Tourists visiting Bath

Kate and Shaun came from Sydney, Australia to enjoy a holiday in the World Heritage city.

Librarian Kate said: “I don’t think there should be any travel between China and anywhere else.

“My sister lives in Beijing, and they have quarantine. She works in a school and they are all closed down. She's doing alright but there might be the option that Australians will actually be sent home because of it.

“We have a lot of Asian students in Australia. Both secondary and tertiary. A lot of secondary school students have also been affected by that as there are students who have come back from China after the New Year.

“Tertiary students will be affected because if they actually don't attend class that will breach their visa conditions. So they’ve paid for their fees and a lot of them can’t actually enter the country to study.

“Wuhan is a really big port that everyone moves through to get to other parts of China, so there are a lot of ramifications.”

Shaun, who works in artificial intelligence, added: “I lived in China for 10 years, they’re lying through their teeth about absolutely everything, the numbers are at least 100 times over what they’re telling you. That’s the way they operate.”

“They are trying to protect their investments therefore they will be flying in regardless.”