Coronavirus Information

Latest Public Health England information and advice

If you have lived with or had close contact (within 2 metres for 15 minutes or more) with a confirmed case of 2019-nCoV, you should contact NHS 111 for further advice.

The NHS and Public Health England (PHE) are well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The NHS has put in place measures to ensure the safety of all patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.

The latest information on symptoms of coronavirus infection and areas where recent travel may have resulted in a high risk of exposure can be foundhere.

NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need medical help and advise you on what to do.

Use this service if:

you think you might have coronavirus;
in the last 14 days you've been to a country or area with a high risk of coronavirus;
you've been in close contact with someone with coronavirus.

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

Find out more information on the outbreak of Coronavirus including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms, here.

Stay at home to stop coronavirus spreading

Everyone must stay at home to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

You should only leave your home for limited reasons:

shopping for basic necessities, for example, food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible
one form of exercise a day, for example, a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household
any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid or escape risk of injury or harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home

Further advice on social distancing and staying at home can be found here.

Preventing the spread of infection

There are general principles you can follow to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:

wash your hands often - with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. This is particularly important after taking public transport
avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
avoid close contact with people who are sick
if you feel unwell, stay at home, do not attend work or school
cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin. See Catch it, Bin it, Kill it
clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home and work environment
if you are worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111. Do not go directly to your GP or other healthcare environments
see further information and the Public Health England Blog.