London begins cleaning drive as virus toll climbs

The death toll in the United Kingdom from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to six, health officials said yesterday. The latest death comes as the health ministry said the number of people who had tested positive for the virus had risen to 373 from 319.
The patient, who died on Monday evening, was being treated at Watford General Hospital, north of London, and had tested positive for Covid-19.
He was in his early 80s and had underlying health conditions, health officials said.
“It appears the virus was acquired in the UK and full contact tracing has begun,” Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.
London is introducing enhanced cleaning on its public transit network and has begun using a stronger anti-viral fluid on trains and at stations to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading, its transport authority said yesterday.
“We want to give Londoners and our staff peace of mind that their safety is our priority, which is why we have enhanced our already rigorous cleaning regime,” said Transport for London’s director of health for safety and the environment Lilli Matson.
Meanwhile, a worker at Apple’s European headquarters in Cork in Ireland has tested positive for coronavirus, one of 24 cases reported so far in the country where its oldest university, Trinity College, has been forced to move all lectures online.
The virus has yet to spread as quickly in Ireland as other European countries, but the government has cancelled all St. Patrick’s Day parades due to take place across the country next week to limit the impact.
Apple, which is one of Ireland’s largest multinational employers, said the employee who tested positive is now in self-isolation and that they feel the risk to others is low while they co-ordinate closely with local health authorities.
Apple employs 6,000 workers in Ireland’s second largest city of Cork. The iPhone maker said in a statement that it had asked some workers to stay at home as a precaution and that it was continuing to regularly deep clean all its offices and stores.
In Dublin, Trinity College said lectures would be delivered online for the rest of the academic year to May 31, with tutorials, seminars and laboratory practicals continuing using social distancing protocol.
A floor in one of the 428-year old university’s buildings was closed as a precautionary measure last week after it was informed of a positive case within the city-centre campus.
In a further blow to Dublin’s tourism sector, Trinity said it would also close its Book of Kells exhibition.
The ancient illuminated manuscript book created by Celtic monks in about 800 AD is one of Ireland’s top tourist attractions.
The closure is one of the first such coronavirus-related measures implemented in the country.