A BASINGSTOKE doctors’ surgery was shut down amid concerns about a suspected coronavirus case.

Chineham Medical Centre on Reading Road was closed yesterday on the orders of Public Health England.

A team of cleaners in hazmat suits were photographed arriving at the scene, wearing protective gear as they carried out a thorough clean of the busy Basingstoke practice.

Staff said the surgery had been closed for one day as part of a ‘routine precautionary measure’.

A sign attached to the surgery’s door read: “The Chineham Medical Practice is temporarily closed today to enable a deep clean to part of the building as a routine precautionary measure.

“The practice will reopen this week, and patients will be advised if their appointment needs to be rearranged.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

“Safety is our priority and we have taken advice about this course of action from Public Health England as a precaution to ensure that there is no risk to staff and patients.”

As of February 19, a total of 5,216 people in the U.K. have been tested with only nine known cases of the illness.

Yesterday, there was confusion at the surgery as residents turned up for appointments only to be turned away.

Chineham resident Stan Marut, 72, who was due to go for a blood test, said he was ‘reassured’ a clean was taking place.

The retired black cab driver said: “My friend’s son travelled back from Wuhan 3 weeks ago before all of this happened and now he can’t return.

“He’s a teacher over there. He hasn’t been tested yet but until this coronavirus is under control he can’t go back.”

Cllr Paul Miller said he wanted to reassure the public there was nothing to worry about.

He said: “All this worry about coronavirus has been completely off the mark.”

n Continued on page 2 There’s much more dangerous things like the novavirus which are much more deadly and more common that covid-19 and I think we’d do well to remember that.

He added: “It’s a concern, yes, but the practice is doing exactly what they should be doing in this situation for the safety of our residents.”

A spokesman for North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group said: “Chineham Medical Practice is temporarily closed today to enable a clean of the surgery as a routine precautionary measure. The practice will reopen tomorrow (February 20) and patients will be advised if their appointment needs to be re-arranged.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused. Safety is our priority and we have been working with public health teams to ensure there is no risk to staff and patients.

“Patients with routine appointments are being called by the doctor to discuss. If they need to be seen by a GP they are being referred to the Bermuda and Marlowe Practice, which is close by in Popley Way, Basingstoke.”

It was initially reported on February 6 that there were three UK cases, but Public Health England later confirmed this has increased to nine.

By the time we went to print, China’s National Health Commission said that the number of patients who have sadly died has reached 1,875 cases, with 73,439 confirmed cases in 30 countries.

There hasn’t been a lot of detail given but milder cases have been seen in younger, healthier people.

The virus is in the coronavirus family that includes Mers and Sars, it causes fever, cough and shortness of breath.

In severe cases the virus can cause pneumonia.