London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

NHS orders 'coronavirus pods' in England hospitals

NHS orders 'coronavirus pods' in England hospitals

Every hospital in England is being asked to create "priority assessment pods" for patients with suspected coronavirus, the NHS has said.
Patients who are concerned they may have the virus are still advised to isolate themselves and call 111.

But the contingency measure is intended to prevent any patients who do arrive at hospital from mixing with vulnerable patients.

The secure areas are expected to be introduced by Friday.

In China, 490 people have died and 24,300 people have been confirmed to have contracted the new virus. It has now spread to 25 nations, with two cases in the UK.

The new measure means that A&E departments will be able to direct people who think they have symptoms of the coronavirus to a pod away from other patients, where they can call specialist NHS 111 teams on a dedicated phone.

An NHS spokeswoman said: "Anyone with a cough, fever, or shortness of breath who attends hospital and has recently returned from China will be advised to follow signs to NHS 111 pods and call for advice, so they stay isolated from other patients and avoid causing unnecessary pressure in A&E."

BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle said the NHS is aware people may not always follow the advice to self-isolate if the virus starts to spread across England.

The pods are meant to protect others using the hospitals - who may have vulnerable immune systems.

"The problem hospitals face is where to create these pods. There is not lots of spare space on many sites to house coronavirus patients and building separate facilities may not be practical," he said.

A Scottish government spokesperson said it had detailed arrangements in place to carry out coronavirus test sampling, but these were being kept under review and additional measures would be introduced if necessary.

Since the virus has spread overseas, 25 nations have confirmed a total of 191 cases, although there has been only one death so far, in the Philippines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

On Tuesday, the Foreign Office advised all UK citizens to leave China if possible, to minimise the risk of exposure to the virus.

Two flights from Wuhan, where the virus is thought to have originated, have brought 94 Britons and their family members back to the UK so far.

They are now in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral for 14 days - the incubation period of the virus - to ensure they are not infected.

A further eight UK nationals and six of their family members left on a flight to New Zealand on Tuesday, and the Foreign Office is chartering a final repatriation flight on Sunday, to allow remaining Britons to leave Hubei province in China.

The Foreign Office said there were between 150 and 200 UK citizens and their dependents remaining in this part of China, and about 100 of them have asked for help to leave.

Another British man, David Abel, is in quarantine on a cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama after a passenger from Hong Kong fell ill with the virus.

At least 10 people on board the ship, the Diamond Princess, have since tested positive for the virus.

Two people in the UK - a student at the University of York and one of their relatives - have been confirmed to have coronavirus and are being treated at the specialist infectious diseases unit at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.

The Department of Health and Social Care said 466 people have tested negative for the virus.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.

Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from flu.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×