Phillip Schofield, 57, revealed on ITV’s This Morning this week he’d returned home from a holiday in Paris with his family just days after the first death of coronavirus in France was confirmed. Concerned by the latest travel advice, he told Nick Ferrari and actress Nicola Thorp during a discussion: “Last week I was in Paris. Do I put myself in self isolation? Do we shut down this place?”

READ MORE

• Coronavirus update: Matt Hancock reveals if UK is ready for a pandemic

Nicola replied: “The guidelines don’t seem to be particularly clear for everybody. It does seem like we’re constantly talking about coronavirus without talking about the implications of it spreading.”

So what are the chances of Phillip having coronavirus and does he need to self-isolate?

The latest advice from the Foreign Commonwealth Office with regards to travel to France reads as: “There is an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus. The virus originated in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, but cases have been confirmed in other parts of China and in some other countries, including France where there is an ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Haute Savoie and Oise.

“The French authorities have indicated they may cancel some large events or gatherings of more than 5000 people.”

But there are some countries and areas where there’s a higher chance of coming into contact with someone with coronavirus.

The NHS advises you may need to get medical advice if you’ve recently travelled to the UK from somewhere with a higher risk of coronavirus.

These places are:

• Cambodia
• China
• Hong Kong
• Iran
• Italy – only northern Italy (anywhere north of Pisa, Florence and Rimini)
• Japan
• Laos
• Macau
• Malaysia
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Tenerife – only the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel
• Thailand
• Vietnam

If you’ve been to one of these places in the last 14 days you should use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service. 

The health body adds if there’s a chance you could have coronavirus, you may be asked to stay away from other people (self-isolate).

It states: “This means you should stay at home, not go to work, school or public places, not use public transport or taxis, ask friends, family members or delivery services to do errands for you, and try to avoid visitors to your home – it’s OK for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food.

“You may need to do this for up to 14 days to help reduce the possible spread of infection.”

You should use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if you think you might have coronavirus or you’ve recently been to a country or areas with a high risk of coronavirus.

READ MORE

• Paddy McGuinness health: Presenter’s painful condition – symptoms

You should also user the service if you’ve been in close contact with someone with coronavirus.

The symptoms of coronavirus to watch out for are a cough, a high temperature, and shortness of breath.

If you are told so self-isolate, the NHS offers more detailed steps for self-isolating effectively.

Some of these include separating yourself from other people, for example not being in the same room as other people at the same time, making sure you tell delivery drivers to leave items outside for collection if you order online, and cleaning toilets and bathrooms regularly.

You shouldn’t invite visitors to your home or allow visitors to enter, go to work, school or public places, or use public transport like buses, trains, tubes or taxis.

Sharing dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding or other items with other people in your home should also be avoided.

For some people self-isolating can be boring and frustrating, but staying in touch with friends and relatives on the phone or by social media can be useful.

It’s important to follow advice for the whole self-isolation period, even if you don’t have any symptoms.

Source: Read Full Article