A pupil in the UK has been diagnosed with coronavirus, Sky News has learnt, as the number of cases in the country rose to 39.

Churston Ferrers Grammar School in Torbay, Devon confirmed one of its students had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

In an email to parents, the school's headteacher Kieran Earley said the affected student was "getting all necessary support and advice from health services".

"Whilst I fully understand this will cause anxiety amongst the school community, I can assure you all necessary steps are being taken to minimise risk to others," the headteacher said.

"The school are making arrangements for a deep clean with advice from Public Health England and will need to close to carry this out.


"All people who have had contact with the person are being identified and will be contacted to advise whether they need to exclude themselves from school and any other action which may be required."

One of the UK's leading drama schools has reportedly been shut for 14 days after it confirmed a member of teaching staff had been diagnosed with coronavirus.

How to contain a global pandemic

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the City of London said a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19 and it was contacting students "to ensure that they receive urgent appropriate advice".

In an update on Monday, the Department of Health said four more people in England had tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 39, with cases in all four UK countries.

England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said the latest four patients were from Hertfordshire, Devon and Kent and had recently travelled from Italy, which is suffering the biggest outbreak in Europe.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the spread of coronavirus is "likely" to become "more significant" across the UK in the coming days and weeks.

COVID-19 'likely to spread' - Boris Johnson

Government sources have said it could be "months rather than weeks" before the outbreak in the UK peaks.

After chairing his first emergency COBRA meeting about COVID-19, Mr Johnson said: "We've agreed a plan so that if and when it starts to spread, as I'm afraid it looks likely it will, we are in a position to take the steps that will be necessary."

The PM added that it was important that people "go about business as usual" for the time being, and said the country is "very, very well-prepared".

It comes after Public Health England warned Britain needs to be prepared for "more widespread transmission" of the virus.

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Professor Paul Cosford, PHE's emeritus medical director, told Kay Burley@Breakfast some of the new cases that could emerge might be "quite challenging".

The World Health Organisation said the "window of opportunity" to contain the outbreak is "narrowing" as almost nine times as many coronavirus cases were reported outside China as inside in the previous 24 hours.

In other developments:

Italy's death toll from the virus rose by 18 to 52 on Monday, with more than 2,000 confirmed cases

South Korea confirmed another 599 infections, taking its tally to more than 4,330 cases and 26 deaths

British Airways and Ryanair cancelled hundreds of flights, blaming reduced demand due to the coronavirus outbreak

and Ryanair cancelled hundreds of flights, blaming reduced demand due to the coronavirus outbreak The risk of coronavirus in the European Union was raised to its second highest level

was raised to its second highest level An aide to Iran's Supreme Leader died after contracting COVID-19

The United States confirmed six people in the country have now died from the disease

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran, is showing "all the symptoms" of coronavirus but is yet to be tested, her husband said

British guests at a quarantined hotel in Tenerife were being flown back after testing negative

More than 89,000 confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 have been recorded globally and there have been more than 3,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the outbreak

Monday's emergency COBRA meeting was attended by senior ministers including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, as well as Professor Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also took part via a conference call.

Speaking from Edinburgh after the talks, Ms Sturgeon said a "four-nation action plan" would be published on Tuesday setting out the different phases to tackle "an infection of this nature".

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But she stressed the UK was still in the "contain" phase of dealing with the virus.

"Wash your hands is the national anthem," said Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, outside the Cabinet Office.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan was excluded from the COBRA meeting, with a City source telling Sky News that people might feel "it is a bit strange" he was not invited given the size of London.

One of the UK coronavirus cases confirmed on Monday is a worker at the North East London NHS Foundation Trust offices at Vinters Business Park near Maidstone in Kent.

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The number of new UK cases is fewer than the 13 cases announced on Sunday - which included a "family cluster" and the first case in Scotland.

A clinician at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, Middlesex, was said to be among those people diagnosed but Public Health England later said they had tested negative for the virus.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned the coronavirus is the gravest threat to the global economy since the 2008 financial crisis.

Sky News understands Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, have held discussions and work is under way on both the short-term needs and long-term preparedness in the event of economic disruption.

The government's "battle plan" to tackle coronavirus includes bringing retired doctors back to work.

It is understood new emergency powers will be brought in to give schools, councils and other parts of the public sector powers to suspend laws - including rowing back on health and safety measures such as allowing larger class sizes - to cope with a pandemic.

Ministers are also considering whether to encourage more home working and discourage unnecessary travel.

The strategy is based on its existing contingency plans for responding to a flu pandemic, but has been adapted to take into account the differences with COVID-19.

In the worst-case scenario, it is feared 80% of the population could contract the virus, with up to 500,000 deaths.

Virus Outbreak: Global Emergency - Watch a special Sky News programme on coronavirus at 6pm weekdays.