Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust have imposed restrictions on visitors attending Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich and Lewisham Hospital in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Only one person at a time is allowed to visit a patient, with no children allowed, the trust announced this afternoon.
As of 9am this morning, Public Health England had reported one case of coronavirus in the borough of Greenwich and three in Lewisham.
The first case in Greenwich was diagnosed on Monday, with Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe saying: “While we are doing all we can to prevent the spread of the virus including the formation of a dedicated task force to oversee the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s response to the outbreak, it does not come as a total surprise that we now have our first confirmed case in the borough. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of making sure we all follow the hygiene advice and to contact NHS 111 in the first instance if you think you have coronavirus.”
Lewisham had the dubious distinction of recording the first case in London a month ago, when a patient turned up at Lewisham Hospital in an Uber minicab. The woman has since recovered, the Press Association reported last week.
NHS advice remains to continue washing your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds at a time.
This afternoon the Electoral Commission said it had asked ministers to postpone local elections in England – which include the London mayoral election – in light of the outbreak.
853 will not be reporting blow-by-blow updates as the virus spreads. We’re not a general news site anyway, and we don’t have the resources to keep track. But if we do run stories about the virus, we will only pass on information if it is confirmed at the highest level and will link to sources as we always strive to do. Spreading unsourced rumours about illnesses or closures is downright dangerous. If you do see a story about the local effects of coronavirus elsewhere, challenge that outlet to name who gave them that information.
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