The first case of coronavirus COVID-19 on the Isle of Wight has been confirmed, meaning Islanders need to take sensible precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus in the local community.
As previously reported by Island Echo last night, 1 person is reported to have the potentially deadly virus locally having recently travelled abroad.
This is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on the Island – a worrying development for those living locally, especially for the elderly population and their families.
Here is everything you need to know about coronavirus, who has it and the symptoms, as well as the wider impact.
Who has coronavirus and where have they been?
Following national guidance and in line with patient confidentiality requirements no more information can currently be released concerning the identity of the individual, the current location of the individual, the treatment of the individual and previous contacts or activities of the individual.
It is known they recently travelled abroad.
Public Health England is contacting people who had close contact with the person, and anybody who has not been contacted by PHE about this case does not need to take any action.
How many people have coronavirus?
As of 07:00 on 7th March 2020, just 1 confirmed case is reported on the Isle of Wight.
Nationally, 21,460 people have been tested in the UK of which 206 have been confirmed as positive for coronavirus. 2 patients have died in the UK.
Symptoms of coronavirus
The symptoms of coronavirus are a high temperature, a cough and shortness of breath.
The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu. Research shows it takes, on average, around 5 days for symptoms to start showing.
What should I do if I think I’ve got coronavirus?
- Stay indoors and avoid close contact with other people, especially older or vulnerable people
- Call NHS 111 or use the online service https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 – you will be asked questions and given advice
- You should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or St Mary’s Hospital without checking with NHS 111
Hospitals across the country have set up NHS 111 Coronavirus Pods to help test possible cases and to protect patients and staff. The Isle of Wight NHS Trust has set up this Pod in a stand-alone building that is isolated from the rest of the hospital. However, people should only make their way to the Pod if they are told to by NHS 111.
How will this effect schools on the Isle of Wight?
Advice has been sent out by the Department for Education to all 53 schools and colleges on the Island. The Local Authority has also issued guidance advising schools not to close without first taking advice from Public Health.
Will events be cancelled on the Island this year?
Currently, there is no instruction to event organisers to cancel large gatherings. However, it is a decision the Government may take if the coronavirus spreads and the country enters a new phase of tackling the virus.
Organisers of the Isle of Wight Festival – the largest event on the Island – say they intend to hold the event as planned in June.
How to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus
[mks_icon icon=”fa-check” color=”#81d742″ type=”fa”] Do
- wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
- always wash your hands when you get home or into work
- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
- try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
[mks_icon icon=”fa-times” color=”#ff0000″ type=”fa”] Don’t
- do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
10 ways you can protect yourself, your loved ones and your community:
- Meet with household members, other relatives, friends and neighbours to discuss what to do if a COVID-19 outbreak occurs in your community and what the needs of each person will be.
- If your neighbourhood has a website or social media page, consider joining it to maintain access to neighbours, information, and resources. Alternatively, share phone numbers and email addresses particularly with those who are isolated or vulnerable.
- Consider establishing a ‘buddy’ system within your community to ensure everyone stays connected to COVID-19 related news, services and can receive support safely, such as essentials deliveries.
- Plan ways to care for those who might be at greater risk for serious complications.
- Choose a room in your home that can be used to separate sick household members from those who are healthy.
- Learn how to self-isolate. Guidance can be found on the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/
- Create a list of local organisations that you and your neighbours can contact in the event that one of you need access to information, healthcare services, support, or resources. Consider including organisations that provide mental health or counselling services, food, and other supplies.
- Create an emergency contact list of family, friends, neighbours, healthcare providers, teachers, employers, the local public health department, and other community resources.
- Learn about the emergency operations plan at your child’s school or childcare facility, and your employer’s emergency operations plan.
- Practice everyday preventive actions including regular hand washing.
What are Visit Isle of Wight doing to protect the Island’s economy?
Will Myles, Managing Director of Visit Isle of Wight, has said:
“Our message to residents, Island businesses and our visitors is to follow the guidelines laid down by the World Health Organization, Public Health England and the Home Office.
“Tourism is a major contributor to the Island’s economy, and as such it is in everyone’s interests to work together to lessen any impact the Coronavirus can have here.
“Visit Isle of Wight will continue to actively promote the Isle of Wight as a year-round destination”.
What are the Isle of Wight Council saying?
The Isle of Wight Council’s Director of Public Health, Simon Bryant, has said:
“We are working with health colleagues to do everything we can to stop the virus spreading and ensure that people on the Island are protected as much as possible.
“Current evidence indicates that most cases appear to be mild, with patients experiencing flu-like symptoms.
“Older residents or those with weakened immune systems or long-term conditions may experience more severe symptoms”.
For more advice on self isolation visit NHS online at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/.
You may need to do this for up to 14 days to help reduce the possible spread of infection. For more information on the symptoms and steps to take, go to www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.
For the latest advice for travellers returning from affected areas, plus guidance to schools and care homes, visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
I HAVE A APPOINTMENT AT ST MARY’S ON WEDNESDAY FOR A OPERATION WILL THIS GO AHEAD
Don’t ask us, speak to your hospital, the end of the world is not going to happen just yet.
Accept some change is inevitable, ask the correct question to the correct people.
I’m an idiot on the internet, your operation will be fine, thank you for asking me, most of the time no one will take any medical advice from me. Glad to see someone thinks I may know something.
YES PAULINE YOUR OPERATION WILL GO AHEAD BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
Oh no!!! gawd help us. Does this mean we have to stay in? 🙁
Only you.
Look, it’s okay to take precautions, but no more than you need to for seasonal flu. Just because one, just ONE, person presented at St. Mary’s with the virus does not mean we are going to become the Walking Dead. Granted, it is very infectious, but so is the Common Cold.
Be sensible with keeping your contacts to a minimum, wash your hands often, if possible, or use a GOOD hand sanitiser. Stay at home, keep warm, hydrated and take paracetamol to alleviate symptoms.
Don’t call 111 unless symptoms really get worse. And, if one has a pre-existing illness, an autoimmune problem, elderly or disabled, ensure, carers, that you are as well as possible. Let’s not get silly, but I suppose it’s gonna happen.
If I get it, then that’s two weeks off, watching films, sleeping and drinking hot chocolate, when I am able, but that’s just me.
Though there are anecdotal stories of pets ‘contracting’ the virus, there is no evidence, as yet, that insects are an infection vector. You oughtn’t let your dogs lick you, especially your face, anyway.
As for everything else, just be sensible, wash your hands and don’t stand too close to anyone you know is going to sneeze – govt advice is try to be 2 metres out of range – and use antiMICROBIAL hand cleaners, not antiBACTERIAL, as the first will deal with viruses AND bacteria, the second bacteria only – and wear gloves when out to deal with surfaces and doorhandles.
The two things are different, and antibacterials will not affect a virus, but may stop you from being open to more opportunist infections, and it is these that often cause problems, because of compromised immune systems (the system in one’s body designed to deal with infections). Stay well!
I think you need to go and buy more toilet rolls
I use 3 rolls in one sitting, guess im a poopy guy 🙂
What are the Isle of Wight Council saying? “Older residents or those with weakened immune systems or long-term conditions may experience more severe symptoms”. – – yeah – – ‘more severe symptoms’ – – like, death! Well done I.O.W. Council…I think that’s what’s known as an understatement…
That’s called Panic, not pleasant, control is paramount. We are all concerned and should be, use your common sense.
Panic will achieve nothing except anarchy.
agreed
All your questions are answered in the film 28 Days Later. On a more serious note, get a grip! It’s flu, it’s not nice and the elderly are at risk but provided we, as a community, look out for each other we will get through this.
‘What are Visit Isle of Wight doing to protect the Island’s economy?’
‘Will Myles, Managing Director of Visit Isle of Wight, has said: “Visit Isle of Wight will continue to actively promote the Isle of Wight as a year-round destination”.
I don’t think we should be protecting the island’s economy at the expense of vulnerable (island) people dying. I think the right course of action would be to temporarily ‘suspend’ island tourism, say,for a month, get rid of the virus, then resume tourism after it’s all blown over. Life shouldn’t be ALL about money.
Also, I think the government should be advising everyone to keep away from pubs, restaurants & cafes for a few weeks to help minimise the spread of the virus. I know this would be unpopular for businesses and a ‘terrible hardship’ for some people, but if we don’t do this it is possible we could be in the situation Italy is currently in, of allowing things to carry on as normal, allowing the virus to spread and now they have to impose quarantine on 16 million people! Stable door and bolted horse spring to mind. Meanwhile, stay calm and have a cup of tea (indoors 😉 )
If only it were that simple.
It isn’t just tourism you’d have to suspend but ALL travel. I.e. total lockdown.
It only takes two people to spread the virus – one to have the virus and the other to catch it.
It would not be just for a month either. It would be until either no-one is infected, everyone has immunity or, at the bare minimum.
Even then we don’t know how many people already on the island are carriers of the virus.
As for money, it would be lovely to tell the bank and the taxman that money doesn’t matter but unfortunately I live in the real world where bills have to be paid and losing a big chunk of my income would have long term consequences.
Even the most gloomy statistics rate seasonal flu as being far more dangerous than covid-19.
Common sense, effective communication and a measured appropriate response is what is needed now, not panic and knee jerk reactions.
Now, I am starting to panic…. please do not panic!
ohh no bad
There are public interest exclusions to both the data protection legislation and the NHS’s internal information governance procedures.
By keeping even basic information confidential they are increasing the chance that people will panic and jump to false conclusions.
They also make it harder to track and test potential contacts since people will have no way of knowing if they are a potential contact unless the NHS happen to identify them.
You cannot rely on the NHS to contact those who were in contact with our only KNOWN victim. Why st Mary’s staff cannot even get appointment dates right, let alone contract all the unknown now likely victims of ‘the’ victim.
We need a current photo, and info of where they travelled, have they met any children since returning, will those children be at school tomorrow risking our childrens lives?
This does not ONLY kill the old, but ONE in a hundred of healthy young people.
And even ‘if’ that is lies, then why should our elderly die horribly and so soon just to protect id. This is not a witch hunt but a safety issue.
Is this one of those Ryde School party that returned from a skiing trip to Italy recently?
I can’t believe the stupidity of people, calm down the other man made disease CANCER kills more people than this and everyone carries on as normal
Southern Vectis should have notices on their buses telling people not to cough and sneeze out into the air. I have endured so many people doing this, even yesterday, they just cough out into the air, not a thought to what germs they might be spreading. I have complained about this for years, caught so many infections from travelling on the buses. You can’t rely on people’s good sense or manners, so many are just ignorant and uncaring and thoughtless. There needs to be mass condemnation from the public generally for anyone who does this, but for so many years now people are afraid to interfere with anyone’s ‘right’ to do as they like and act exactly as they please. People used to be told that coughs and sneezes spread diseases and to cough or sneeze into a hanky and throw in a bin, that has all been forgotten about for so long now.
We need to be told whereabouts on the Island this person is and if they have travelled on public transport and when. For God’s sake. I have chest condition and my friend in his eighties phoned to say he has sore throat. I am worried sick. Neither of us are in positions to look after ourselves if we get ill and both are terrified of hospitals and treatment. And not knowing anything makes it so much worse.
more than 90 percent of people who have died have been over 60 with most over 70 .
How many people are dying due to the flu ? tell us those statistics in parallel.
Maybe this is a ploy to usher in a surveillance state using 5G network , so big brother all round the world
can get their spy network up and running whilst telling us it is to save us from viruses….
Why are NHS.not “Covid-19” testing all people coming into U.K. mainland sea & airports from abroad?
“Why are NHS.not “Covid-19” testing all people coming into U.K. mainland sea & airports from abroad?”
just how simple & cheep d’you think the test is David ?
Do you want to pay for tens of thousands of people to be tested when 99.9% won’t have the virus
Time and money. There’s your answer.
Everyone get a grip! More are killed each year from seasonal flu.just look up the statistics. If everyone just makes a few basic changes and looks out for elderly or frail relatives we will be ok. China is already getting back to normal after a huge decline in new cases. It will run its course like all viruses. And would everyone stop bulk/ panic buying so everyone can carry on as usual then there’ll be enough for us all.
would take a while mate
seay – they found traces of the virus in the air conditioning units in an EU hospital, where two patients with very mild symptoms were still quarantined – clearly can be spread through air con units – unless the air con units have the appropriate filters in them that prevent viruses of this size getting through.
I believe island echo should close this thread as all everyone seems to want to do is spread panic and misinformation. None of you know the facts and speculation is a dangerous thing. It will end up treating those infected as pariahs of society through no fault of their own. It’s a very dangerous way to go.
When people live alone, and have no one else to look out for them, they have every right to want to know as much as possible to try and protect themselves. Like what is the result of the party from Ryde School who recently returned form a skiing trip to Italy? Is if one of that party who has the virus? No one is asking to be told the name & address of the person for goodness’ sake, just the area they live in and what public transport they might have used.
Also, this pod that they have set up outside St. Mary’s for people to go to for testing, how are they supposed to get there? Bus? taxi? Anyone having this, and even those who may not know they have it, travelling on public transport is putting others at risk. No one is blaming them for it, we just need to know the facts.
As for the comment that cancer kills more, well, you cannot catch that from another person, so the comment is ridiculous in the context of what we are talking about here.
Plus, oh well it only affects anyone over 60, so that is alright then, no need to worry, as long as younger people are fine, that is all that counts, ::sigh:: Yes, as long as the ‘me me me’ generations are safe, nothing else matters, nature’s way of getting rid of oldies. Heaven help us.
me, me, me generation. this coming from a baby boomer!
Wash your hands for 20 seconds and then wait for someone else to open the door to the toilet.
You people are nuts hahah. Over 70,000 people a year did from flu and so far 2 in the Uk have caught it. It’s the greatest scam ever and wow are people being sucked in. I hope for god sake that one day something bad isn’t going to happen that will kill you as the human race is so pathetic in such a dribble of a new cold with a posh name
Look around and see the reaction !! You think This is The Flu !!!! !?.??
Wait a week and this Will be out of control !!! You believe Chins that it’s the Flu ?
Go and tell that to the Italians that are losing family every Night !!!
‘The Virus Buster’ – please don’t show your ignorance by spouting this rubbish…. many people will only have mild symptoms but ‘many’ elderly folks will have worse symptoms and dare I say, fatal consequences if they have underlying health issues. So don’t make light of the current situation the world is in with this virus. I hope you follow the news bulletins and make sure you wash your hands regularly, if you don’t, it’s people like you ‘the human race needs to avoid’!!!!!!
Calm dead seay , this isn’t malaria merely just the flu with a different name. This ain’t the end of the world , no need to stock up , this isn’t Shaun of the dead.
I’ve 3 appointments at Southampton hospital,and worried about going,it is to get a much needed operation on my back,I have copd am 69 this month,really need advice on what to do,,
Ive 3 appointments at Southampton hospital 2 this month,1 early april,this is regarding major surgery on my spine,i have COPD,and 69 this month,,although this operation would give me more quality of life im not sure what to do,