At least three people in Hertfordshire have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

As of Thursday, the number of Covid-19 cases in the UK is 115, with the first confirmed case in the county announced last Saturday.

The Government now has a battle plan in place to deal with the virus and chief medical officer Professor Chris Witty has said a serious outbreak is “almost certain” and “some deaths” are expected.

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed the first coronavirus case in Hertfordshire on Saturday afternoon. Another two were confirmed on Sunday.

The three Hertfordshire cases are in Harpenden, Letchworth and Stevenage.

Davenport House Surgery in Harpenden revealed on Monday that one of the cases confirmed over the weekend was its patient.

The surgery in Bowers Way said all other patients who were in the surgery during this time have been contacted.

And on the same day, it was revealed Peartree Spring Primary School in Stevenage sent a message to all parents explaining that a parent at the school tested positive for the virus.

The school is set to remain open following advice from Public Health England.

On Tuesday, Woolgrove School Special Needs Academy in Letchworth also confirmed a parent at the school was one of the three coronavirus patients in Hertfordshire.

East and North Hertfordshire Trust on Sunday night initially confirmed a fourth patient too: a clinician at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood.

But the next day, the Government U-turned on that decision and the trust said the clinician tested negative.

A statement on the trust’s website read: “After initial PCR testing by Public Health England, subsequent genomic testing shows that the member of staff from Mount Vernon has now proven to be negative for Coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Public Health England has just informed us of this latest result.

“This is obviously a source of relief to the individual in question, and also to those members of staff and patients who had been advised to self-isolate and/or undergo testing.”

It is possible there are more confirmed cases in Hertfordshire as the Department of Health and Social Care announced on Wednesday it would no longer tweet information about where the patients were tested.

But now it has stated there will now be more regular bulletins released.

 



 

 

Its statement posted on Twitter read: “On geographic breakdowns, we will publish regional data of new cases immediately and more localised breakdowns within 24 hours.”

If you would like to get the most up-to-date information, visit the government website gov.uk/coronavirus for details of confirmed cases in locations near you.