Coronavirus has caused the death of a 60 year old with underlying health issues in North Manchester General Hospital on the 8th March.
His death was the third fatal case of novel coronavirus in the UK and, following his death on Sunday, three more people have since passed away from the virus.
This comes as the number of cases in the UK has risen to 596 [13/03/20 14:00].
The man who passed away had recently returned to the UK from Italy, where he contracted the virus, and was put into isolation at hospital after visiting his GP.
The hospital has issued a statement, “There is no risk to staff, other patients, relatives and visitors as we have robust measures in place to deal with patients treated on our Infectious Diseases Unit.”
The family of the victim were told to self isolate themselves and, due to the quarantine, were unable to visit the patient in hospital or schedule a funeral.
Those who had been in contact with the deceased before his isolation receive daily texts from Public Health England to check whether they are showing any signs of the virus.
The son of the victim stated that – “So far… none of us have shown any symptoms,”
There are currently 23 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Manchester and the man was first death in the city due to the virus.
Coronavirus is affecting many aspects of city life, including sport matches such as the cancellation of the football match due between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Some players are currently in self-isolation after coming into contact with COVID-19 patient, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marianakis.
The Premier League has issued a statement about the decision to cancel the game: “Following medical advice, Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC consider it is necessary to postpone their fixture due to be played this evening to give time to fully assess the situation.” It has since been announced that the Premier League will be suspended until the 3rd of April.
Advice from the government emphasises “the importance of washing your hands more often”, especially at the following times:
- when you get to work or arrive home
- after you blow your nose, cough or sneeze
- before you eat or handle food
The guidelines encourage people to wash their hands for “20 seconds, using soap and water or hand sanitiser. You should also cough or sneeze into tissues before binning them.”
If you think you may have any of the coronavirus symptoms make sure to call 111 to seek professional medical attention.
