Coronavirus: first death recorded in Greater Manchester

A man in his 60s has died at North Manchester General Hospital after being treated for coronavirus.

The man’s death is the third in the UK after 273 people have so far tested positive for the illness.

A spokesperson for North Manchester General Hospital said: “We can confirm that sadly a patient being treated for COVID-19 has died at our specialist regional Infectious Diseases unit at North Manchester General Hospital.

“The man in his sixties tested positive after travelling to Italy and had a number of underlying health problems. Our thoughts are with the patient’s family who are being supported by our specialist bereavement staff.

“North Manchester General Hospital remains open and all services and appointments are running normally. Patients with appointments and those visiting relatives at the hospital should attend as normal. This includes our Infectious Diseases Unit and associated services.

“There is no risk to staff, other patients, relatives and visitors as we have robust measures in place to deal with patients treated on our Infectious Diseases Unit.”

As of Monday, there are no confirmed cases of the COVID-19 illness in the Rochdale borough; cases have been confirmed across Greater Manchester in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, and increasing cases are being seen globally.

Typical symptoms of coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

The main symptoms of novel coronavirus are flu-like symptoms, including a cough, a high temperature and shortness of breath.

If you think you may have coronavirus please DO NOT go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

Anyone who is suspected to have coronavirus is asked to call 111, stay indoors and avoid close contact with other people.

For more information, visit: 

• www.gov.uk/coronavirus
• www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/