A York hotel where two people diagnosed with coronavirus were staying poses a “minimal risk of infection” to members of the public.
Two people were taken ill at the Staycity apartment hotel in the city on Wednesday and were later confirmed to be the first UK cases of the coronavirus.
It is understood that they travelled to the UK from China recently and are undergoing treatment at the specialist Airborne High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) centre in Newcastle.
The pair, who are members of the same family, had been staying in a room in the apartment-style hotel in the south-east of the city when they became unwell.
The 220-room hotel features studio, one and two-bedroom rooms and did not close at any point.
However, the room the family members stayed in remains closed.
Thorough clean
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We have been advised by Public Health England that there is minimal ongoing risk of infection to either guests or staff, and as such our York property remains open for business.
The apartment concerned will undergo a thorough environmental clean and disinfection by a specialist contractor.
We would like to reassure all our guests that we are following official advice on this matter and that the health and safety of everyone working and staying in our properties remains of paramount importance to us.
We would like to wish the two guests concerned a speedy and full recovery.
Public Health England (PHE), which is urgently trying to trace those who came into contact with the two people, said steps will be taken to reduce the risk to the public and it is “identifying the areas where there is deemed to be a risk”.
A PHE spokeswoman said: “Our public health experts are well trained at assessing risk, and are adopting approaches that they have used in a number of emerging infections to reduce the risk to the public.”