Paramedic tests positive for coronavirus as UK outbreak continues to spread

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A paramedic from Hertfordshire has tested positive for coronavirus as the UK outbreak continues to grow.

Announcing the news, an NHS spokesperson said: “The Chief Medical Officer today confirmed a further case of Covid-19 who is a resident of Hertfordshire and a paramedic with the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST).

“There are well-established procedures that are being followed in a case such as this and the NHS and Public Health England are taking all necessary steps to manage the situation.”

They did not confirm whether the patient was undergoing specialist treatment or whether contact tracing has begun.

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It comes after the total number of declared cases in the country rose to 460, with eight deaths confirmed so far.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak to be a pandemic on Wednesday, as it ramped up pressure on all countries across the world "to take urgent and aggressive action".

Later today it is expected that Boris Johnson will announce that the UK is moving into the next phase of the government's virus "battle plan."

The Prime Minister will chair an emergency Cobra meeting at lunchtime, where ministers are expected to agree to begin the “delay” stage of the process.

Moving to delay would mean social distancing measures could be brought in, such as restricting public gatherings and issuing more widespread advice to stay at home.

It comes as British medical chiefs informed doctors that they may need to work outside their usual area of expertise “for the benefit of patients and the population as a whole” in the peak of an epidemic.

A letter, sent by the UK's chief medical officers and officials from the General Medical Council and NHS England, said part of a professional response is a “rational approach to varying practice in an emergency”, and GP practices, hospitals, trusts and health boards should ensure clinicians are supported to do this.

“They must bear in mind that clinicians may need to depart, possibly significantly, from established procedure in order to care for patients in the highly challenging but time-bound circumstances of the peak of an epidemic,” it added.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been working with health officials to help structure the government's response
REUTERS

Meanwhile, data published on Thursday suggests the NHS 111 system is coming under increasing pressure.

In February, there were 1.6 million calls to the helpline in England – an average of 56,000 a day. This is up from 1.4 million calls in February 2019, which was an average of 50,000 a day.

Only 70 per cent of calls were answered within 60 seconds – the lowest for any calendar month on record, and down from 74 per cent in Feb 2019.

The proportion of calls abandoned after waiting longer than 30 seconds was eight per cent, up from five per cent in Feb 2019.

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