The risk of transmission in London is higher and the Tube could spread the virus quickly (Picture: LNP/PA/Getty)

Doctors have warned the London Underground could be a hotbed for the spread of the strain of coronavirus known as Covid-19.

The warning comes after a London woman became the ninth person in the UK to test positive for the deadly virus. There are concerns the city’s status as a transport hub could exacerbate the spread of the virus, however doctors have said the risk of infection for residents in the capital remains low.

Dr Robin Thompson of Oxford University said: ‘In general, if an initial case is in a densely populated area, then the risk of sustained person-to-person transmission following is higher. This is exacerbated by the fact that London is a transport hub, and the underground could provide a network to spread the virus quickly.



‘As a result, given this case was in London, it might be expected that there is an increased risk posed by this case compared to the others we have seen.’


The patient was the ninth confirmed case of the disease in the UK

Dr Michael Head from the University of Southampton added: ‘It should also be noted that of the 1,750 tests carried out so far in the UK, over 99% of those tested have been negative for the coronavirus.

‘Thus, risks to Londoners and UK residents remain low, though people should continue to keep an eye on guidance for the general public.’

While the patient has now been quarantined, Dr Thompson says the risk of the virus spreading depends on the woman’s interactions prior to being placed in isolation.

‘The key factor here is the number of contacts that this infected individual has had prior to being isolated,’ he said.

‘If this is low, then the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission is also low.’

As Public Health England investigates the patient’s movements, Dr Nathalie MacDermott from the National Institute for Health Research said London commuters should continue to go about their business as usual.

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There are fears that if it got onto the Tube, the disease would spread quickly (Picture: PA)

‘Provided the individual followed the government’s advice [to self-isolate] there should be little concern of transmission to the general public in London,’ she said.

The latest patient in England is being treated at a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London.

It is believed the case was detected in London, making it the first instance of coronavirus confirmed in the capital.

Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Witty said: ‘One further patient in England has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of cases in the UK to nine.

‘This virus was passed on in China and the patient has now been transferred to a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London.’

As with the previously confirmed cases, officials are working to identify contacts the latest patient had.

The London patient is being treated at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital (Picture: LNP)

It comes as the two-week quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside of 83 UK nationals flown back to Britain from Wuhan is set to end on Thursday morning, amid reports they have all tested negative for the virus.

Kharn Lambert, one of the quarantined patients in Merseyside, confirmed the group were being released on Thursday and said: ‘I’m ecstatic and I’m so happy that everyone has come back with negative test results.’



Meanwhile, Steve Walsh, the businessman at the centre of the UK outbreak of coronavirus, has said he is ‘happy to be home’ after being given the all-clear and then discharged from hospital.

Mr Walsh, a 53-year-old scout leader from Hove in East Sussex, contracted coronavirus on a business trip to Singapore – and is linked to five other people diagnosed with it in the UK.

On his way back to the UK from Singapore, he stopped off at a ski region in France, where five other Britons were subsequently infected with coronavirus, now formally named Covid-19.

Mr Walsh is also linked to a Briton taken ill in Majorca, taking the number of confirmed cases linked to him to 11.

A person being held at Arrowe Park Hospital which is set to be cleared of people today (Picture: AP)

In a statement on his release from hospital, Mr Walsh said: ‘I want to give a big thank you to the NHS who have been great throughout and my thoughts are with everyone around the world who continues to be affected by the virus.’

Professor Keith Willett, NHS strategic incident director, said Mr Walsh was discharged after two negative tests for coronavirus, 24 hours apart.

The WHO cautioned that while the number of newly confirmed cases reported in China has stabilised, it remains a threat.

‘This outbreak could still go in any direction,’ director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing on Wednesday at which he said the organisation is developing a masterplan to tackle the virus, which will look at diagnostics and treatments.

A vaccine could be ready for human trials in three months from now, the briefing was told.


Dr Paul Cosford, from Public Health England, earlier told the BBC more cases of coronavirus in the UK are ‘highly likely’.

Meanwhile, Steve Walsh, the businessman at the centre of the UK outbreak of coronavirus, has said he is ‘happy to be home’ (Picture: Rex Shutterstock)

While researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have estimated the number of new coronavirus cases in Wuhan could peak by the end of the month, the WHO said it is too early to make such a prediction.

Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told Wednesday’s briefing: ‘I think it’s way too early to try and predict the beginning, the middle or the end of this epidemic.’

Elsewhere a major technology show has been cancelled after a number of firms pulled out over coronavirus fears.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC), which had been due to take place in Barcelona at the end of the month, has in previous years attracted some 100,000 visitors, but organisers said it had become ‘impossible’ to hold it this year due to ‘global concern’ around the outbreak.

Of the nine people so far diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK, two are GPs.

A sign at a shop in Brighton where face masks are on sale – though there is little proof about how effective they are (Picture: Getty)

Officials know that the pair worked at a nursing home, Worthing Hospital A&E and two GP practices between them.

Public Health England (PHE) confirmed on Wednesday it has traced and advised all close contacts of the two GPs, including about 12 patients.

Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said on Wednesday that a number of GPs from Brighton were among those staying in the French ski chalet with Mr Walsh.


He said one of those completed a locum shift at Worthing A&E last week and, as a precaution, the hospital has now ‘sent home for self-isolation a number of their staff from various departments of the hospital’.

As a result, the hospital is experiencing some staff shortages, he said.

Meanwhile, in Brighton, pupils at several schools have been told they could stay at home after reports that some teachers and families feared they had come into contact with the virus.

The Department for Education has issued advice to schools to follow instructions given by Public Health England regarding self-isolation for people who have recently travelled from Wuhan or specified countries.

There have been more than 44,700 cases of the virus in China, with more than 1,100 deaths.

In the rest of the world more than 400 cases have been confirmed across 24 countries.

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