Coronavirus: Fear for cancer patients as hospital clinician tested positive in UK

After a hospital medic was identified as a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, fears for the cancer patients admitted in the hospital grew strong. On March 12, the Chief Medical Officer of East and North Hertfordshire NHS announced that 12 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed which include a clinician from Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.

However, the hospital, in a statement, said that they are very well prepared for such incidents and the NHS and Public Health England are taking all necessary steps to manage the situation. It added that all individuals who were in contact with the clinician have been identified and the appropriate measures have been taken.

“The risk to patients and staff at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre is very low and we are working with individual patients to appropriately manage their care,” said the hospital.

“We would like to offer assurance that it remains safe for patients to attend Mount Vernon Cancer Centre as normal and ask patients to attend scheduled outpatients appointments,” it added.

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Fear of pandemic

The fear of a pandemic is also looming large as India as confirmed two new cases of the deadly virus. The Health Ministry released a statement saying one positive case has been detected in New Delhi and one case in Telangana. The person from Delhi has a travel history with Italy, the European nation which has reported deaths due to coronavirus. The ministry has not revealed any further details regarding the identity of the patients and said that they are stable and being closely monitored. 

Read: Health Min Harsh Vardhan Confirms 2 More Coronavirus Cases, Issues Fresh Travel Advisory

According to the latest report, 42 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll because of the deadly virus to nearly 2,900. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, other countries, including the United States, Iran, Italy, and Japan, have also now reported deaths related to COVID-19.

Read: Germany Confirms 158 Coronavirus Cases, Global Toll Crosses 89,000

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