Four further cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United Kingdom, bringing the total number of cases to 40, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said on Monday.
CMO said the four new patients had recently travelled from Italy and are from Hertfordshire, Devon and Kent.
“All are being investigated and contact tracing has begun,” the statement read.
The total number of cases in England is now 37 while Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland reported one case each.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the country needed to be prepared for the new coronavirus to spread further.
“I think it’s very important to stress that this is a problem that is likely to become more significant for this country in the course of the next days and weeks,” Johnson said.
“We’ll be making every possible preparation for that and this country is very, very well prepared.”
(With Reuters inputs)
