4 March 2020
The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Liverpool.
It is among 32 new cases announced today by the UK Chief Medical Officer earlier today (4 March 2020) bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 85.
It comes just hours after Mayor Joe Anderson chaired a special meeting of the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board about how Liverpool is preparing for a possible outbreak.
Liverpool City Council Chief Executive Tony Reeves told the meeting robust plans are in place, adding that it is right Liverpool is planning for the worst case scenario, but that he is confident partners have experience and expertise to manage in the event of a pandemic.
Mayor Anderson asked partners to fine-tune their resilience plans with a focus on communities and asked for another update in two weeks time.
Public Health England (PHE), Liverpool City Council and the local NHS are working closely together to effectively manage the case which has been announced today.
PHE is currently contacting people who may have had close contact with the confirmed case. Close contacts 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 confirmed case.
This tried and tested method will ensure that any risk to them is minimised and the wider public is protected. Based on current evidence, Coronavirus COVID-19 presents with flu-like symptoms including a fever, a cough, or difficulty breathing. The current evidence is that most cases appear to be mild.
More information about coronavirus can be found by visiting gov.uk.
