Two nurses - including one who is pregnant - were reportedly in quarantine after they treated a patient suspected of having coronavirus.

They had treated a woman at The Haven in Mill View hospital, Hove, who is thought to have recently returned from holiday in Hong Kong, according to the Brighton Argus.

They were being kept in a room next door to the patient, a source said.

The nurses were in the room at 8.30pm yesterday evening, after treating the woman in a suspected new case of the deadly illness.

Another source claimed that the nurses were working a night shift on the mental health ward when they were told they couldn't leave.

The nurses treated a woman at The Haven in Mill View hospital, Hove, who is thought to have the coronavirus

The source told Brighton and Hove News: 'The night staff were not allowed to leave and the early shift sent to other wards.

'The woman concerned was assessed in a Mill View assessment room which has now been closed but it is nowhere near the wards so if it is confirmed there will not be a serious risk to the patients.'

Public Health England has refused comment and said it will not discuss any new confirmed cases until 2pm tomorrow.

Sussex Partnership NHS trust has been contacted for comment.

The case comes after the the government announced a new regulation allowing it to forcibly place suspected coronavirus patients in quarantine.

Anyone infected with the virus will be kept in quarantine for their own safety and will be forced into isolation if they pose a threat to public health.

Meanwhile, one of the largest secondary schools in Brighton yesterday told parents that a 'member of its community' was in quarantine because of suspected contact with the coronavirus.

Varndean School, which has around 1,300 pupils, became the fourth school in the city to contact parents to say that a connected individual had been told to 'self-isolate' by Public Heath England for 14 days.

A GP surgery in Brighton was yesterday sealed off and cleaned by a team in hazmat suits after it was revealed locum doctor Dr Catriona Greenwood had caught the killer virus – today named COVID-19 – from 'super spreader' Steve Walsh at a French ski chalet.

MailOnline has found at least nine sites in Brighton linked to the city's super spreader or his infected doctor friend including two schools, two health centres and a care home as the area's residents accused public health chiefs of starving them of information

A second branch of the surgery, located less than two miles away, was closed today for 'organisational health and safety reasons' – the same excuse offered to patients at the Warmdene branch yesterday.

Brighton is at the centre of Britain's coronavirus crisis, with six of the UK's eight confirmed cases diagnosed in the city. More than 43,000 people have caught the SARS-like infection worldwide and at least 1,000 have died.

Scout leader Mr Walsh, 53, this morning confirmed he was Brighton's 'super-spreader'. The businessman is feared to have infected at least 11 people – including five Britons in France, one in Spain and five in Brighton.

MailOnline understands Dr Greenwood, also known by her married name Saynor, treated at least one patient at the Warmdene branch of the County Oak Medical Centre last week in an admin locum shift.

Dr Greenwood had been a GP at the surgery for almost 20 years before she left Britain last year to start a new life in the French Alps with her family. She returns to the UK periodically to fill well-paid 'locum' shifts.

Workers in protective suits inside of the County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton on Monday after a GP at the practice was diagnosed with the deadly virus

A source close to the surgery revealed she saw at least one patient at Warmdene in an admin shift. They said: 'She comes back to Brighton for locum work. She carried out an admin shift at the surgery last Thursday.'

She is quarantined in a hospital in London. Her husband Bob and one of their three children are also being treated for the virus in France, as well as three others Britons who caught the infection at the same chalet in Les Contamines Montjoie.

Dr Greenwood and her husband owned the chalet, located near Chamonix. Mr Walsh had stayed there after flying to the French Alps from a conference in Singapore, where he unknowingly caught the virus at the end of January.

Mr Walsh, whose children attend the Cottesmore primary school that sent out an alert to parents today, passed on the infection before showing any symptoms of the killer SARS-like infection.

Dr Catriona Saynor (pictured left) quit as a partner in Brighton to live permanently in the French chalet where the British super-spreader visited to ski. She works at County Oak Medical Centreas a locum, according to the medical centre's website. Her husband Bob and their nine-year-old son are also said to have been confirmed with coronavirus

Brighton GP surgery the County Oak Medical Centre has been closed for 'urgent operational health and safety reasons' after a member of staff tested positive for the killer coronavirus

He claims he has recovered from the never-before-seen virus. He is still quarantined in a London hospital and his family have been asked to isolate themselves 'as a precaution'.

Brighton residents have been gripped by fear after the spate of coronavirus cases in the city.

Members of a yoga class attended by a coronavirus patient at the Cornerstone Community Centre were told to stay indoors and avoid interacting with people amid concerns they may have caught the virus during the session. It has been shut until February 17 because of 'staffing shortages', according to Allison Ollerenshaw, the chair of trustees.

The Grenadier pub in Hove, where the super spreader went for a drink after returning from Singapore with the virus. Staff who were on shift that night have been told to self-isolate

Patcham Nursing Home in the north of the city has closed its doors to visitors amid fears a GP with coronavirus visited one of its 24 elderly residents last week

Patcham Nursing Home, in the north of the city, last night closed its doors to all visitors as a 'precaution' after an infected GP - either Dr Greenwood or a second, unnamed male doctor - last week visited the facility, which cares for 24 elderly residents.

And students at Bevendean Primary School were this morning told they can stay at home if they want after a teacher is in 'self-isolation' over fears they caught the coronavirus. The school, which has more than 400 pupils, said a member of staff had been in contact with someone who had spent time around one of the six coronavirus patients in Brighton.

While headteacher of Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Rachel Breen, wrote to parents telling them the two had been isolated to 'reduce the risk of the virus spreading'. It has not closed but said students can stay at home if they wish.

Parents of pupils at Varndean School were today emailed to say that a 'person from our school community' has been told by PHE to self-isolate for 14 days, Brighton and Hove News reports.