All five Scottish patients test negative for coronavirus

All five patients in Scotland who were tested for Chinese coronavirus have been given the all-clear.

Another 26 people across the UK have also tested negative, the Scottish Government announced on Saturday.

The UK Government’s Cobra emergency committee met on Friday to discuss the potential threat, while an incident team was also set up in Scotland to monitor the situation.

The Scottish Government confirmed on Thursday that five people were being tested after presenting with symptoms of the illness.

Following the negative results, a spokesperson said the risk to the public “remains low”. However, the government will continue to work with the World Health Organisation and international community to “monitor the situation closely”.

The official death toll in China has jumped to 41 with more than 1200 confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, health officials are continuing to track down around 2000 people who have recently flown into the UK from Wuhan, the area of China worst affected by the outbreak.

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed it was trying to find “as many passengers as we can” who arrived from the region in the past two weeks to check on their wellbeing.

It is understood Border Force officers have been recruited to help speed up the search for passengers.

Health Protection Scotland is advising travellers returning from Wuhan who become unwell to call their GP or NHS 24 to see if further assessment is needed.

A Scottish Government spokesperson added: “Respiratory and flu-like illness are more common at this time of year – as such there will be cases presenting with symptoms who are highly unlikely to have Wuhan novel coronavirus.”

Coronavirus

Wuhan novel coronavirus is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China.

As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. Typical symptoms of coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

Generally, coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.