LONDON, Feb 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tests for coronavirus are being increased to include people displaying flu-like symptoms at 100 GP surgeries and eight hospitals across the UK.
The tests will provide an “early warning” if the virus is spreading, Public Health England’s Prof Paul Cosford said.
It comes as oil firm Chevron asked 300 London staff to work from home while one employee is tested for the virus.
And more schools closed after trips to Italy, which has more than 300 cases.
Italy has in recent days become Europe’s worst-affected country, with a surge in cases that appear to have spread to Austria, Croatia and Switzerland.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that it was important not to overreact in response to the outbreak, saying that would also have “economic and social” costs.
He also said UK employers had been sent guidance telling them staff who are asked to self-isolate are entitled to take sick leave.
Hancock said it was “a very important message for employers” that those who need to self-isolate can do so “as if they were sick”. — NNN-AGENCIES:
