Britain’s third coronavirus case was infected in an Asian country other than China

LONDON, Feb 7, 2020, Reuters. A British national who was the country’s third confirmed coronavirus case contracted the disease after travelling to an Asian country, according to authorities. Confirming the third person in Britain had tested positive, British medical authorities on Thursday said the unidentified person had contracted the virus outside China, but did not elaborate, South China Morning Post reported.

“They acquired it in Asia but not in China,” England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said.

“Because of that, it is probably now prudent to slightly widen the geographical area where doctors in the UK and NHS know they should test people if they come with the right symptoms,” he said.

Whitty did not name the country from where the patient had returned.

The two other cases are a Chinese student studying at York University in England and a relative of that student.

The government extended a list of countries from which returning travellers who developed symptoms should self-isolate if they showed any of the coronavirus symptoms.

It said those returning from Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau as well as China should follow the advice.

“These areas have been identified because of the volume of air travel from affected areas, understanding of other travel routes and number of reported cases,” the government said.

The third coronavirus patient in Britain has been transferred to a specialist health service centre.

The first two people in Britain to be diagnosed with the virus are being treated at a hospital in Newcastle, northeast England, Britain’s health ministry said last week.