Coronavirus: Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital sets up 'assessment pod' as part of nationwide response

NHS England has ordered every hospital in the UK to create separate facilities to examine patients they believe may have the infectious disease.

The NHS services across Portsmouth are ‘extremely well prepared’ to deal with new outbreaks, according to a statement from Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

It comes as Kingston Crescent Surgery, in North End, closed early for ‘deep cleaning’ due to a suspected case of coronavirus on Friday.

On Wednesday, a Gosport family was reported to be in self-isolation over concerns of an infection, with Bay House School confirming a pupil's relatives are undergoing tests.

The total number of coronavirus patients in the UK reached nine after a Chinese woman living in London returned from a visit to China on Wednesday.

The UK’s chief medical officer has described the nationwide risk to the general public as ‘moderate.’

An NHS spokesman said: ‘Anyone returning from Hubei province in the last 14 days should stay indoors, avoid contact with other people and call NHS 111 whether or not they are showing symptoms.

‘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.’

The virus – officially named covid-19 – has infected more than 45,000 people worldwide, resulting in 1,114 deaths.