Coronavirus case attended Westminster conference with 250 delegates - those in close contact are now being traced

Efforts are now being made to identify anyone that may have had close contact with the individual at the UK Bus Summit

One of the people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK attended a conference at Westminster with more than 200 delegates.

Efforts are now being made to identify anyone that may have had close contact with the individual.

The unnamed person who is suffering from Covid-19 visited the UK Bus Summit at the QEII Centre in Westminster last week on February 6.

Transport Times, the conference organiser, emailed attendees on Thursday afternoon informing them that a confirmed coronavirus case had been at the event.

Dr Yimmy Chow, consultant in health protection at Public Health England (PHE), said: "One of our main priorities has been to identify any people who we think have been in close contact with confirmed cases of Covid-19 to provide public health advice, as they may be at slightly increased risk of catching the virus.

"While the degree of contact conference delegates may have had with the case is unlikely to have been significant, we have taken a precautionary approach and informed them of the situation."

The case is believed to not be linked to the ninth patient with coronavirus in the UK - who is a Chinese woman.

The email from the event organisers enclosed a letter from PHE warning roughly 250 delegates to stay indoors and avoid contact with others if they were feeling well, but to call NHS 111 if they developed symptoms such as a fever or cough.

Those in attendance were from the nationwide bus and transport industry; with speakers including buses minister, Baroness Vere, the parliamentary under secretary of state transport, Nusrat Ghani, and various managing directors of bus firms.

The news follows that the woman who is the ninth confirmed case of coronavrius in the UK took an Uber to A&E after developing syptoms.

Two staff from Lewisham Hospital in south London are now in isolation at home after coming into contact with the woman.

The ninth case, who contracted the virus in China before flying to the UK, is being treated at a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in central London.

Suspected cases of coronavirus are still being tested, including one mother who told The Sun newspaper that her baby son had come into contact with an infected doctor while being treated for a leg injury at Worthing Hospital.

Stephanie Adlan, 28, said she was “terrified” for eight-month-old James and has self-isolated with her family but criticised medics at the hospital for a lack of information.