Coronavirus: ‘Positive case’ identified at Addenbrooke’s Hospital

A patient in one of the isolation wards is believed to have contracted the virus, the hospital said, as it disclosed it will now carry out a “contact tracing” exercise to discover which members of staff might have had close contact with the patient.

So far there has been one confirmed case of coronavirus in Cambridgeshire and none in Peterborough.

Addenbrooke’s is used by many patients in Peterborough for appointments.

The hospital said in a statement: “A likely positive case of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been identified on one of our isolation wards at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

“A ‘contact tracing’ exercise is now underway to trace other staff who might have had close (face-to-face) contact with the patient.

“Close contacts to the patient concerned will be given health advice about symptoms and emergency contact details to use if they become unwell in the 14 days after they had contact with the likely case.

“This well-tested method will ensure that any risk to them is minimised and the wider public is protected.

“Based on current evidence, COVID-19 presents with flu-like symptoms including a fever, a cough, or breathing difficulty.”

Medical director Dr Ashley Shaw said: “It is very important to protect yourself by following the well-publicised guidance for hand-washing. Please also be scrupulous with your hygiene and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth and use and then bin tissues if you cough or sneeze.

“These are the best steps that you can take that will help to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

He added: “Patients with appointments or who need to attend for urgent or emergency care should still come to hospital.”

There are 460 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the UK with eight people having died.

It is anticipated the Government will announce today it is now trying to delay its spread rather than contain it.

The World Health Organization yesterday labelled the outbreak of the disease as a pandemic.

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