THE first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in North Yorkshire - but York has still not seen any more diagnosed cases.

Public Health England (PHE) is contacting people who had close contact with a resident who has returned from Italy to the North Yorkshire County Council area.

It is not known where the patient lives and a council spokesman said that for reasons of confidentiality no further information was available at this time.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director for public health at the council, said PHE had said the individual followed the necessary health advice regarding reporting symptoms, self-isolating and being tested and regional health officials were therefore reassuring people that the risk remained low.

PHE’s website stated yesterday that North Yorkshire had four confirmed cases, but a council spokeswoman said she understood this was a statistical error.

She believed the county’s one case had been mistakenly added to the three cases already confirmed in the City of York Council area - a figure which did not rise today.

A PHE spokeswoman said yesterday evening that there had been one case and the data suggesting there were four cases was 'subject to cleansing' and could therefore change at a later stage.

York's three cases are believed to relate to two guests who were staying at the StayCity aparthotel near York Barbican at the end of January when they were taken ill, later becoming the first confirmed cases in the UK, and to a York resident who tested positive last week after returning from Italy.

Meanwhile, there have still been no confirmed cases in East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s area.

Dr Simon Padfield, consultant in health protection at PHE, said: “Close contacts will be given health advice about symptoms and emergency contact details to use if they become unwell in the 14 days after contact with the confirmed case.

“This tried and tested method will ensure we are able to minimise any risk to them and the wider public.”