Coronavirus: New patients in Ireland as UK confirms 116 cases – here's where

The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has reached 116, as Ireland reported a spate of new patients with the virus.

The UK government has warned a "significant" spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is now "highly likely" after the number of cases rose from 85 on Wednesday afternoon.

It comes after a woman in her 70s became the first person in the UK to die after testing positive for coronavirus.

Here is where the UK cases of COVID-19 are:

UK officials confirmed 18 people diagnosed with coronavirus have since recovered, while 45 of the confirmed cases are being treated at home.

Seven new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, taking the total in the country to 13.

The new patients included a case of "community transmission" after a man linked to Cork University Hospital caught the virus.

As a result, the hospital cancelled all outpatient appointments on Friday and said strict visiting restrictions are in place.

Four men who had travelled to northern Italy and two women who had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 were also among the new cases.

In the UK, local regions reported on Thursday that two new coronavirus cases were in Staffordshire, one was linked to the University of Sussex in Brighton, two were in Wigan, one in Rotherham, two in Liverpool, and one in Birmingham.

HSBC evacuated its entire research department and parts of its trading floor at its Canary Wharf offices in London after a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus.

Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, said three new Scottish patients confirmed on Thursday were from the Forth Valley, Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and Grampian areas.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We will continue to try to contain this virus. However it's now highly likely that the virus is going to spread in a significant way.

"Officials will therefore accelerate work on preparations for the delay phase of the government's plan focusing on steps we can take to seek to delay the spread of the virus.

"This will include detailed work on the optimum time to introduce further measures."

England's chief medical officer told MPs the UK is now in the second phase of its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Professor Chris Whitty said Britain was "mainly" in the "delay" phase of the government's four-stage approach to COVID-19.

But he said he was expecting the number of UK cases to go up over the coming weeks due to evidence of "some level of community transmission".

In its 27-page plan to deal with a major outbreak, the government has said up to one in five workers could be off sick during a peak in coronavirus cases.

In a worst case scenario, it said up to 80% of the population could become infected, with people hospitalised with pneumonia and a relatively high death rate among the elderly and frail.

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Meanwhile, the government has launched an advertising campaign - featuring across print, radio, online, and billboards - in the fight against COVID-19.

Hand-washing remains the central advice - but the government has also said it would consider closing schools, encourage working from home and the reduction of large-scale gatherings to slow the spread of the disease.

People should wash their hands for 20 seconds and use soap and water or hand sanitiser.

The adverts also stress the importance of coughing or sneezing into tissues.

There is no vaccine yet for the new viral infection, which health officials think spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The symptoms include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.

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