Coronavirus cases in the UK rise to 23, as three more patients test positive in England

The three new cases – in Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Berkshire – are being investigated and any individuals who had contact with the patients are being traced.

Two of the patients had recently returned from Italy while the other had travelled back from Asia, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said.

As of 9am today, Saturday, February 29, more than 10,000 people in the UK had been tested for the virus, also known as Covid-19.

Advice being sent out to Sheffield home carers in case of coronavirus outbreak

Health officials are still trying to trace anyone who had contact with a patient in Surrey who became the first to catch the illness within the UK.

It is not known if the patient had contracted the virus ‘directly or indirectly’ from somebody who had recently travelled abroad.

More than 85,000 people have now been infected globally, with at least 2,850 deaths.