A HEREFORD school is stopping students from China travelling home due to the coronavirus outbreak which has hit the country.

Hereford Cathedral School said it's preventing students from travelling to China and are continuing to monitor the situation.

All visits have been cancelled and the fee-paying school confirmed no staff or students have been in China since the coronavirus outbreak started.

"Obviously for Chinese pupils they are concerned about family and friends back home," marketing and admissions manager Laura Yates said.

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"None of the pupils are travelling back home and the boarding house will remain open over half term.

"We are working with the Boarding School Association about how we go about things. We're also making sure we give Public Health England advice to students.

"None of the students from China have been there since the outbreak and any planned visits from family and friends have been cancelled. We're doing everything we can do.

"Our medical and boarding staff have been briefed. We're doing all we can."

The school will continue to monitor the situation as two people in England have tested positive for coronavirus, it has been confirmed.

The pair are members of the same family, according to Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty. 

The government confirmed the cases at 9.30am this morning (Friday).

More cases could be confirmed later as a flight from the epicentre of the outbreak, Wuhan is China, lands at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Roads around the airbase will be closed until this evening and those on board will be taken to an NHS facility in the Wirral.

The flight, carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals, is due to land at 1.30pm.

The two cases of the virus are the first to be diagnosed in the UK. 

The Department of Health declined to say where in England the patients were from but it is understood they are not in the Wirral area, where a special facility has been set up to quarantine those returning from Wuhan.

In a statement, Professor Whitty said: "The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus.

"The NHS is extremely well-prepared and used to managing infections and we are already working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread.

"We have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus and we have robust infection control measures in place to respond immediately.

"We are continuing to work closely with the World Health Organisation and the international community as the outbreak in China develops to ensure we are ready for all eventualities."