Businessman Steve Walsh, the man suspected of being at the centre of a UK outbreak of coronavirus, is being discharged from hospital and is no longer contagious, NHS England has said.
Prof Keith Willett,the NHS strategic incident director, said: “Following two negative tests for coronavirus, 24 hours apart, Mr Walsh has been discharged from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, having made a full recovery following his treatment.
“Mr Walsh’s symptoms were mild and he is no longer contagious, and poses no risk to the public. He is keen to return to his normal life and spend time with his family out of the media spotlight.
“I would like to thank the clinical team who treated Mr Walsh in hospital, as well as all the NHS staff who are working hard with other health organisations to limit the spread of coronavirus and treat the small numbers who have contracted the illness. Anyone with any health concerns should contact NHS 111.”
The development came as at least nine schools in Brighton, Hove and Eastbourne in East Sussex informed families that some of their pupils or staff had been told to self-isolate after concerns were raised that Walsh, who tested positive for coronavirus, may have passed it on to others.
Walsh, who unknowingly contracted the disease on a business trip in Singapore before going on a ski trip where he is thought to have infected others, was being held in an isolation unit at St Thomas’ hospital in London. He was in the Alps with two GPs who have since tested positive for coronavirus in Brighton.
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
- Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
- Avoid direct, unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces in contact with animals when visiting live markets in affected areas
- Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and exercise care when handling raw meat, milk or animal organs to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.
Despite a surge in sales of face masks in the aftermath of the outbreak of the coronavirus outbreak, experts are divided over whether they can prevent transmission and infection. There is some evidence to suggest that masks can help prevent hand-to-mouth transmissions, given the large number of times people touch their faces. The consensus appears to be that wearing a mask can limit – but not eliminate – the risks, provided they are used correctly.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised UK nationals to leave China where possible. It is also warning that travellers from Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand who develop symptoms of cough or fever or shortness of breath within 14 days of returning the UK should contact the NHS by phone.
Two GP practices were closed on Tuesday for cleaning over coronavirus fears, but have reopened with some disruption to appointments. A spokesman for NHS Brighton and Hove CCG said all other NHS services in Brighton and Hove were open as usual, with measures in place to protect patients and staff.
Outside Worthing hospital on Wednesday morning, patient Charlotte Hewitt said “nobody’s panicking” after confirmation from Western Sussex hospitals NHS trust that someone who works there has the coronavirus. The 18-year-old said she was originally admitted as a day patient but kept in with an unrelated illness.
She added: “There is one room inside boxed off but aside from that everyone is calm inside. I don’t even see anyone visiting or any of the patients wearing masks. All you are being asked to do is constantly wipe your hands with gel if you go out and when you come back in again. I am not worried about being treated inside the hospital because everything seems to be under control.”
Her friend Leanne O’Keefe had come to visit Hewitt this morning. “I just walked in and nobody checked on me,” O’Keefe said. “All I did was what I usually do if I’m visiting Charlotte or anyone else in a hospital – I washed my hands with the gel before going to see her.”
What is the virus causing the illness that started Wuhan?
The virus is officially called Sars-CoV-2 and this causes the disease Covid-19. It is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city.
What other coronaviruses have there been?
New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are other examples – severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals.
What are the symptoms of the coronavirus?
The virus can cause pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died were already in poor health.
Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?
China’s national health commission has confirmed human-to-human transmission, and there have been such transmissions elsewhere. As of 12 February there are now 45,182 confirmed cases and 1,115 deaths. There are cases in 28 other countries outside China, with deaths recorded in one case in Hong Kong, and one case in the Philippines. The number of people to have contracted the virus overall could be far higher, as people with mild symptoms may not have been detected.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has doubled from four to eight after four more people in Brighton were diagnosed with the infection over the weekend.
There are nine cases of the virus in the UK. Four were located in Brighton, one in London. At Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside 83 people in quarantine were told they would be allowed to leave on Thursday after they all tested negative. Of the 1,750 tests carried out so far in the UK, more than 99% had been negative.
Why is this worse than normal influenza, and how worried are the experts?
We don’t yet know how dangerous the new coronavirus is, and we won’t know until more data comes in. The mortality rate is around 2%. However, this is likely to be an overestimate since many more people are likely to have been infected by the virus but not suffered severe enough symptoms to attend hospital, and so have not been counted. For comparison, seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate below 1% and is thought to cause about 400,000 deaths each year globally. Sars had a death rate of more than 10%.
Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough?
Unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected with the virus, then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal. The NHS advises that people should call 111 instead of visiting the GP’s surgery as there is a risk they may infect others.
Is this a pandemic and should we panic?
Health experts are starting to say it could become a pandemic, but right now it falls short of what the WHO would consider to be one. A pandemic, in WHO terms, is “the worldwide spread of a disease”. Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in about 25 countries outside China, but by no means in all 195 on the WHO’s list.
There is no need to panic. The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. The WHO has declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern, and says there is a “window of opportunity” to halt the spread of the disease. The key issues are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital. Often viruses that spread easily tend to have a milder impact.
Sarah Boseley Health editor and Hannah Devlin
Schools in the area are also taking precautions. Two families with children at Carden primary school in Brighton were told to self-isolate in an email issued by the school on Wednesday morning. The school is situated opposite the County Oak medical centre, which has been closed after a GP working there came into contact with Walsh.
The email from the school stressed that the families had been in contact with a “potential” case of the virus and not yet a diagnosed one.
Among the affected schools in Brighton is one of the area’s biggest secondaries. Varndean school has written to the parents of its 1,300 pupils, the Argus reported. Varndean said somebody connected to the school had been told by Public Heath England (PHE) to self-isolate for 14 days.
Parents at Cottesmore St Mary’s Catholic primary school in Hove had two children in quarantine, the Argus reported . Hangleton primary school, also in Hove, sent an email to parents informing them that a pupil’s family were self-isolating because of “a connection to one of the health centres affected by the coronavirus”. It said: “At this time there is a low risk for anyone attending the school.”
Other affected schools include Portslade Aldridge Community academy in Portslade, which has about 900 students, as well as Bevendean primary school and Balfour primary school.
Ratton school in Eastbourne, a secondary with 1,196 students, and Ocklynge, a junior school, have also issued warnings.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that two prisoners at HMP Bullingdon, near Bicester in Oxfordshire, are being tested for coronavirus and kept in isolation in their cells. One of the prisoners had recently been transferred from a jail in Thailand, Sky News reported.
The prison has capacity for 1,114 inmates and remains operational, with PHE on site helping to manage the situation. Access to the wing of the complex where the affected prisoners are being held has been restricted.
