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More than 300 staff members of American oil company Chevron were sent home after an employee reported flu symptoms after returning from a country battling coronavirus, formally named COVID-19. Traders, exploration and refining unit staff were instructed to work from home until the test results have determined whether the employee has the virus. The office is located at 1 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf, south London.

In a statement, a company spokesperson said: “Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilizing the guidance of international and local health authorities. “Our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure.” The news comes as video footage, obtained by the Daily Star, revealed a man collapsing in the Canary Wharf shopping centre following a coughing fit. Shocked onlookers appeared to "run away" in panic as the man fell to the ground. A statement from Canary Wharf Group read: “We do not have any evidence to suggest this is related to coronavirus. “There has not yet been any confirmed coronavirus case on the Canary Wharf estate. “Nonetheless, we are carefully monitoring the situation and taking precautionary steps where possible, for example, we have positioned additional hand sanitisers across our public spaces and retail malls.” JUST IN: Coronavirus PANDEMIC: Outbreak could be upgraded IN DAYS - 'UK to get more cases'

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Elsewhere, a number of UK schools have closed over potential connections to coronavirus. A school in Cambridgeshire and three schools in Lincolnshire have closed its doors. Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough, has closed to allow for a deep clean to take place; after a family recently returned from Northern Italy. Parents were seen collecting their children this morning from the school, which is set to stay closed until Monday March 2. Lutton St Nicholas Primary School in Spalding, Lincolnshire, has also closed today because of a "potential connection" to the deadly disease by an individual at the school, who is now being tested. Gedney Church End Primary School and Shepeau Stow Primary School, both in Spalding, have also closed today for the same reason and will now be deep cleaned. READ MORE: Phillip Schofield coronavirus: Host thinks he should 'self-isolate'

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A Government document has warned coronavirus could kill half a million people and infect 80 percent of the British public. Vulnerable Britons, including the elderly and people with pre-existing illnesses, would be most at-risk and the NHS would be put under immense pressure if the virus sweeps the UK. The planning memo warns that four in five Britons - or more than 50million - could be infected by the flu-like virus. The document, titled 'Covid-19 Reasonable Worst Case Scenario', added that a vaccine is "unlikely to be available for many months". DON'T MISS:

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A major outbreak could put more than two million people in hospital and prompt the closures of public transport, schools, museums, tourist sites and other public buildings. A spokesman said the Government must prepare for the worst case scenario, but "this does not mean we expect it to happen". Updating the Commons on Covid-19, the Health Secretary said 7,132 people in the UK have been tested for the virus. So far 13 people have tested positive - eight of whom have been discharged.

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