York Coronavirus Patients Leave Hospital- And Thank NHS Staff For Their Care

THE two people who were taken ill with coronavirus while staying at a York aparthotel have left hospital and thanked NHS staff for their care and support.

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The pair, believed to be Chinese nationals, were taken to hospital by paramedics in hazmat suits from the StayCity aparthotel at the end of last month.

They were treated initially in Hull and then at hospital in Newcastle, and subsequently became the first people in the UK to be tested positive for the disease.

Their cases sparked a national media frenzy outside the hotel, situated next to York Barbican, and then at the University of York after it emerged that one of the two patients was a student there.

Now NHS England has said that two patients who were treated at Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust had been discharged.

It said they were amongst nine patients being treated at NHS Trusts, all but one of whom had been discharged after twice testing negative for coronavirus.

The Press has previously asked the university how the student was doing and whether they were still being treated in Newcastle, but a spokesman said then that it did not comment on individual cases and the student with coronavirus had the right to confidentiality.

When asked yesterday whether the student had now returned to their studies at the university, a spokesperson said: “The student, through the university, wishes to thank all the NHS staff for their care and support. The student has expressed a desire for their privacy and anonymity to be respected.”

The university revealed earlier this month that the coronavirus outbreak had left students and staff experiencing abuse and racism - both online and in person, and said it condemned such behaviour "in the strongest possible terms".

It emerged earlier this month that the student with the virus spent a night in private student accommodation at Vita Student in Lawrence Street.

The news prompted York Central MP Rachael Maskell to speak out in the House of Commons, calling on the Government to "get a grip" on the outbreak.

She said then that the information previously provided to the public about the people infected with coronavirus in York had been incorrect, as the student did access student accommodation despite the public being told they had not.

“There is confusion over how information is being gathered and shared, which could have a serious impact on public confidence in how the coronavirus is being managed,” she said.

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