Newborn baby confirmed as youngest coronavirus patient in the UK

A newborn is believed to be the youngest person in the UK to have tested positive for coronavirus.

North Middlesex University Hospital confirmed two patients had tested positive for Covid-19, which has killed more than 5,000 people worldwide.

The news comes as plans are underway to ban mass gatherings from next week as part of the battle against coronavirus, marking a significant shift in the government's position.

The NHS is 'scaling up' coronavirus tests. Credit: PA

In a statement the NHS Trust said: "Two patients at North Middlesex University Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus.

"One has been transferred to a specialist centre and one is being treated in an isolation room.

"The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority, so in following guidance from Public Health England, we are regularly deep cleaning the areas where the patients are cared for and staff who were in close contact with these patients were advised to self-isolate."

Health minister Helen Whately MP spoke to ITV News after the confirmed diagnosis.

She said: "My thoughts are with the family of the baby because it must be truly really worrying when you have a newborn baby that's ill."

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