Coronavirus: First community transmission detected in Wales

The first case of coronavirus transmitted within the community has been detected in Wales.

The person in the Caerphilly council area had not travelled to a country where the virus is circulating or had contact with another confirmed case, Wales' chief medical officer said.

Three other new cases had returned from northern Italy.

A police officer and a worker at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are among 19 confirmed cases in Wales.

South Wales Police said its Merthyr Tydfil station on Rhydycar Business Park was closed last night for deep cleaning as a precaution before re-opening on Wednesday morning.

The force said the officer was self-isolating at home.

ONS bosses said its Newport office remained open and the company was "taking appropriate steps to protect the well-being" of staff.

Meanwhile, Llanedeyrn Health Centre in Cardiff said it was advised to close by Public Health Wales (PHW) on Wednesday due to a "suspected" case of coronavirus.

However, Sky said on Wednesday that a worker who it previously said had been diagnosed with coronavirus had actually tested negative for the illness.

"Yesterday we acted decisively to ensure the safety and welfare of our people and we are reopening the site tomorrow as planned," a spokesperson said.

Elsewhere, a flight carrying about 135 British crew members and passengers - including a family from Bridgend and a couple from Aberdare - from the quarantined Grand Princess cruise ship in California has landed in Birmingham.

Passengers were wearing face masks as they were led off the plane at Birmingham Airport and onto coaches by officials wearing hazmat suits. They are all being asked to self-isolate.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has now reached 460, after the biggest rise in a single day, with the World Health Organisation now labelling the virus as a pandemic.

Dr Andrew Freedman, clinical reader in infectious diseases at Cardiff University, said cases were beginning to take off and we should expect a large increase in the next days and weeks.

"Community spread is when you catch it from other people - at work, out shopping, on public transport, but you're catching it from people who probably don't think they have the infection.

"They may have no symptoms at all or very mild symptoms. Nevertheless they're contagious and able to pass on the infection.

"And that's the problem with this infection, 80% only have a very mild illness and if they don't know they've got it, they'll probably carry on with their normal activities."

He added: "The next phase is described as 'a delay phase' so we don't get such a rapid spread and high peak of infections which might overwhelm the health service.

"It's perfectly reasonable for the majority with mild symptoms to self-isolate at home and only the sickest people would be needed to be admitted to hospital."

The four further positive cases of coronavirus, which causes the disease Covid-19, were confirmed on Wednesday afternoon by Wales' Chief Medical Officer Dr Frank Atherton.

Three of the new cases in Wales had returned from northern Italy, with two residents in the Powys local authority area, and the other a resident in the Swansea council areas.

The fourth new case, a resident of the Caerphilly local authority area, has no history of travel to a country where the virus is circulating, and is not known to have had contact with another confirmed case.

Dr Atherton said: "I'd like to take this opportunity to assure the public that Wales and the whole of the UK is prepared for these types of incidents."

More than 630 people have already been tested for the virus, according to PHW.

Of the 19 who have now been diagnosed, six are from Neath Port Talbot, three are from Swansea, two from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cardiff and Powys, while Newport and Caerphilly each have a single case.

Mario Kreft, chairman of Care Forum Wales, who runs Pendine Park Care in Wrexham, said care homes were already looking at "significantly reducing" people going into them to keep residents as safe as possible.

"We have half a million people in care homes in the UK - 20,000 in Wales - and by definition they're the most vulnerable. I think we have a duty of care to everyone equally and we have to do everything we can to ensure they're safe," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"And I'd say to anyone who wants to visit a loved one in a care home to think very, very carefully," said Mr Kreft.

"Because totally accidentally, this virus could be transmitted. And all the evidence suggests we need to push back this epidemic as far as we can so the NHS will be able to cope until, possibly, herd immunity as they call it, in a few months time will be achieved in the wider population."

In the meantime, he said the care sector provided "relatively safe places" and needed to make sure they were "making room" to relieve the pressure on the NHS.