UK confirms 19 COVID-19 cases

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 respectively in Wales and Northern Ireland together with two more cases in England brought the total number of infections in Britain to 19, the country's health authorities said Friday.

Wales's first confirmed case is a patient who returned from northern Italy and contracted the novel coronavirus there, said the Public Health Wales, noting that it is now working hard to identify close contacts and taking all appropriate actions to reduce any risk to the public's health.

Meanwhile, the two patients in England contracted the virus in Iran and have been transferred to specialist NHS (National Health Service) infection centers at the Royal Free Hospital, Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty said in a statement.

Northern Ireland on Thursday reported its first case of COVID-19. Authorities said the patient had traveled from northern Italy via Dublin.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to hold a Cobra emergency meeting over the coronavirus outbreak on Monday, local media reported.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)