Is coronavirus in an UBER? Patient tests positive after taking taxi to A&E in London as 763 Britons are tested in at some point with panic over the outbreak intensifying
Highest amount of British patients ever tested hit the country yesterday
Concerns mounted after a lady with the virus turned up to hospital in an Uber
The UK's ninth confirmed case received Lewisham Hospital on Sunday night
More than 750 British patients were tested for coronavirus in at some point as panic over the outbreak intensified across the country.
None of the 763 people tested had the disease but the extraordinary figure – the very best during a day thus far – reflects the growing public anxiety.
Further concerns were raised yesterday after NHS officials admitted that a lady with the virus had turned up to a busy A&E unit in an Uber taxi.
The patient – the UK's ninth confirmed case – received Lewisham Hospital in south London on Sunday night, during a major breach of public health advice.
Two healthcare workers who came into contact with the lady are told to self-isolate and therefore the Uber driver's account has been temporarily suspended.
Official advice from Public Health England states that anyone who suspects they need coronavirus should occupy home, call NHS 111 and await transport to the closest hospital assessment pod.
The patient was the primary case in London and doctors are worried that the disease's emergence within the capital will cause it spreading quickly.
Dr Robin Thompson, an expert in mathematical epidemiology at Oxford University said: 'In general, if an initial case is during a densely urban area , then the danger of sustained person-to-person transmission following is higher.
'This is exacerbated by the very fact that London may be a transport hub, and therefore the Underground could provide a network to spread the virus quickly.'
Yesterday morning paramedics in hazmat suits turned up to a flat in Paddington, central London, after a patient reported symptoms.
More than 45,000 patients have caught the virus across the world and at least 1,100 have died. A leading scientist today warned the escalating crisis is 'just getting started' outside of China
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