Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
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One of the two people in the UK infected with the deadly Wuhan coronavirus is a student at the University of York, the university said on Saturday.
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Two cases of the virus were reported on Friday, the first in the UK since the global outbreak began in January.
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“We understand this development will cause concern and anxiety among our students, staff, and the wider community,” the university said in a statement.
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The virus has now infected almost 12,000 globally, and killed more than 200.
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One of the two people in the UK infected with the deadly Wuhan coronavirus is a student at the University of York, the university said on Saturday.
Two cases of the virus were reported on Friday, the first in the UK since the global outbreak began in January.
“Public Health England (PHE) have now informed us that one of the two individuals to have tested positive for coronavirus is a student at the University of York,” the university said in a statement.
“We understand this development will cause concern and anxiety among our students, staff, and the wider community.”
It is not known if the patients had recently been in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated.
“We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus,” Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England said in a statement at the time.
“The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus.”
“We are already working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread,” Whitty added.
Sky News reported that the patients are being treated in Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in the north east of England, close to the Scottish border.
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The virus, officially known as 2019-nCoV, spreads from human to human, and has infected some people who had not traveled to Wuhan recently.
It has now spread to at least 20 countries worldwide. The vast majority of cases are in China, with almost 12,000 people in the country infected, and over 200 dead.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency on Thursday.
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