Five cases of COVID-19 have now been confirmed in Cornwall.

Steve Brown, Cornwall Council’s deputy director of Public Health said: "I can confirm that five cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Cornwall. The two latest cases are linked, and both had recently visited Northern Italy.

“The risk to the general public remains low and the council is continuing to work with our health colleagues to do everything we can to stop the virus spreading and ensure the people of Cornwall are protected.

“If you have not been contacted by Public Health England as a close contact of the confirmed cases you do not need to take any extra action at this time.”

Cornwall Council, PHE and the NHS said they were well prepared to deal with coronavirus. Its priority is to safeguard local communities, which sometimes involves taking preventative measures to help reduce the risk of further cases.

To date 24,641 people have been tested, with 319 positive cases across the country.

The council advises people to follow the advice being issued by PHE, NHS and local authorities.

It said it could not comment further on individual cases due to patient confidentiality.

Details on testing are published daily at 2pm and includes a breakdown of negative and positive tests: www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public