Two King's College Hospital Patients Test Positive For Coronavirus

Two recent patients of King's College Hospital in South London have been diagnosed with coronavirus.

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The pair were among the latest infections as the toll across the UK hit 87, it has been confirmed.

It comes as Britain saw its largest spike in diagnoses in a single day, with 34 cases.

A statement from the hospital, based in Camberwell, said: "The Trust has had two recent patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

"We have strict protocols in place to manage the control of infection and to reduce the possibility of cross-infection, and this includes restricting access for staff and visitors to the ward."

It added that Public Health England is carrying out contact tracing and will be in touch with anyone who may have been exposed to the virus.

Three of the 32 new cases recorded in England were passed on in the UK, raising fears that community transmission may now be taking hold.

The jump in cases came as England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned that a UK epidemic is looking "likely".

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new sick pay changes as part of emergency coronavirus legislation so that anyone self-isolating is paid from day one rather than day four as current rules state.

The Department of Health has been updating the UK figures daily, with one Northern Ireland case among the 85 recorded at 2pm on Wednesday.

However, Northern Ireland later confirmed two more cases, taking the UK total to 87.

Earlier, Prof Whitty told the BBC there could be a need to do "extreme things" to protect the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.

He added: "At this point in time we think it is likely, not definite, that we will move into onward transmission and an epidemic here in the UK."

But he stressed that for most people, "this will be a mild or moderate disease, anything from a sniffle to having to go to bed for a few days, rather like with mild flu".

On the NHS, Prof Whitty said: "The NHS will always cope because the NHS is an emergency service which is very good at adapting to what it finds itself with."

But he said if the UK sees a very large epidemic, "then it will put very high pressure on the NHS", and there could be "several weeks which could be very difficult" for the health service and wider society.

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