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A Chinese student in Leeds was taken to hospital over fears she had contracted the coronavirus.

An image appears to capture the medics, dressed in hazmat suits, entering the city centre Vita Student St Albans accommodation on Cross Belgrave Street yesterday (Monday).

After speaking to students who live in the same accommodation and know the woman taken to hospital, LeedsLive now understands she was tested for coronavirus - and that the result was negative.

Sirui Xu, a Chinese student in the same study group as the patient, said: "I heard she is negative and doesn't have any coronavirus. She is in our student group and she chat [spoke] with us and she said she has not got it.

"She was taken away yesterday."

LeedsLive has contacted the Department of Health for comment, but they could not give any detail on suspected cases of the virus. We are awaiting a statement from Vita Student on the scare in their Leeds flat block.

Laura Ma, another student living in the same accommodation, said: "We spoke as a group and found out that she was okay. She is in the hotel now.

"Of course it was scary. We were thinking whether we would be infected, but understand it can be solved [treated]."

Another student, who didn't want to be named, added: "Before I know she was alright I was a bit worried. But now she said she is alright so I am confident that everything is okay."

Vita Student St Albans houses students from both the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University. The company also owns the Portland Crescent site near to Leeds Civic Hall.

'We will continue to support all our students with any concerns surrounding coronavirus'

Max Bielby, managing director of Vita Student, said: "We have been proactively delivering the government's advice for anyone who has travelled to the UK from affected areas in the last 14 days, and experiencing cough or fever or shortness of breath, to stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if symptoms are mild.

"We applaud our students for following this advice and taking responsible precautions.

"We will continue to support all our students with any concerns surrounding coronavirus.

"We remain in close contact with the health authorities and at this stage have no information to suggest that one of our St Albans residents has been affected by the virus."

To date, eight patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus. Two of those were in York, after medics rushed to a hotel in the city centre.

Advice for travellers is available on the government website. Novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China.

There is advice on the University of Leeds website and the Leeds Beckett University website for concerned students.