Fourteen people in the UK have been tested for coronavirus with five confirmed negative and nine still waiting for results, Public Health England (PHE) has said.

Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director at PHE, said it was "highly likely" that cases would be seen in the UK.

He said it was still "early days" in the course of the virus, but stressed that most of those affected abroad are making a good recovery.

The Scottish government had earlier confirmed that five people were undergoing tests for the virus after presenting with symptoms of the illness.

Two of those had been diagnosed with influenza after travelling to Wuhan, China - where the outbreak is thought to have originated - while the three others were "undergoing testing on a similar precautionary basis".


Downing Street said four suspected cases in Scotland were believed to involve Chinese nationals.

Sky News understands one person was being tested at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for symptoms associated with coronavirus.

The patient was being looked at as "a precautionary measure".

PHE would not give a breakdown of where the people were tested and where the negative results were recorded.

Professor Cosford said anyone who has travelled to Wuhan in the last two weeks and returned to the UK, and who has symptoms, must get in touch with the NHS.

He told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: "We will not be surprised if people return from China to the UK with the infection, the important thing is that if you are one of those people and you develop symptoms you get in touch quickly.

"All our GPs and hospitals across the country have had a letter from the chief medical officer and the medical director at NHS England and us at Public Health England, so that if somebody does present and they are worried, if they do meet our criteria, that they will be put somewhere where they won't infect other people while they're assessed and while we can get them tested."

Asked if face masks could provide protection, he said PHE was not advising people to use face masks at the moment, but is monitoring developments carefully.

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The outbreak has so far killed 26 people in China and infected more than 880.

Professor Jurgen Haas, head of infection medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said he believes there will be many more potential cases in other cities in the UK.

He said: "The situation will be pretty similar in pretty much all UK cities with a large number of Chinese students.

"It's not too surprising. My suspicion is that there will probably be many more cases in many other cities in the UK."

Professor Haas said there is only one laboratory testing for the virus, operated by PHE.

He added that the cases have been flagged through the PHE infection guidelines as they travelled to Wuhan within the last 14 days and are showing signs of respiratory symptoms.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the NHS is "ready to respond appropriately" to any cases of coronavirus that emerge in the UK.

He told the Commons on Thursday that while "there is an increased likelihood that cases may arise in this country, we are well prepared and well equipped to deal with them".

England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, is in contact with international experts and his counterparts to monitor the situation, Mr Hancock added.

The Chinese government has effectively locked down 10 cities in Hubei province, cancelling planes, trains, ferries, subway and bus services.

Overseas, four cases have been found in Thailand, three in Singapore, two in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the autonomous region of Macau, and one each in the US and Taiwan.

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The World Health Organisation said it is "too early" to declare an international public health emergency over the outbreak "given its restrictive and binary nature".

The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to Wuhan.

How dangerous is the new 'mystery' coronavirus?

Peter Piot, professor of global health and director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said there were still "many missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle", adding: "Over the coming days and weeks we will know much more, but there cannot be any complacency as to the need for global action.

"The good news is that the data to date suggest that this virus may have a lower mortality than Sars, we have a diagnostic test and there is greater transparency than decades gone by.

"And that is essential because you cannot deal with a potential pandemic in one country alone."