Two coronavirus patients are being treated at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield

A spokesperson for Sheffield’s NHS hospitals said that two patients with the disease, known officially as COVID-19, are in the Specialist Infectious Diseases Unit at the Royal Hallamshire.

They stressed: “there is no risk to other patients or visitors coming to any of our hospitals because the unit is self contained with a dedicated team of specialists.”

The two patients have not been cared for by any of the other hospitals or community services before the specialist unit, so other hospitals and units are not at risk.

The spokesperson added: “All our services are operating as normal and patients should attend their appointments or procedures as planned. Visiting arrangements are also not affected.”

The patients are passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and were flown to Sheffield on Sunday.