A SCHOOLCHILD has been placed into isolation after a case of coronavirus was confirmed in the city.

The parents of the PACA student were advised to "self-isolate" their child as part of Public Health England's investigation into the illness in Brighton and Hove.

The school is in Chalky Road, Portslade, and has about 900 pupils.

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In a letter to parents yesterday, headteacher Mark Poston said: "As I am sure many of you are aware, media outlets reported on Thursday a first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Brighton.

"We are working in collaboration with, and being guided by, the local authority and Public Health England to ensure that we at PACA are acting consistently with the right medical advice.

"Today we have been contacted by a parent of a student at PACA who was contacted by Public Health England as part of their investigation concerning the confirmed case that was reported in the press.

"We have been informed by the parent that they have been advised by Public Health England to self-isolate their child at home for 14 days.

"If at any point the child is found to be symptomatic, we will be notified.

"The local authority has confirmed to us that Public Health England and the office of the chief medical officer are clear in their advice that schools do not need to close.

"Public Health England is leading on control measures and they will be contacting people who may be affected using their established systems for similar situations.

"We will continue to keep parents updated with any advice that is passed to us.

"I have attached with this message advice which the local authority and Public Health England are asking all schools in Brighton to pass on to their parents."

A middle-aged British man from Hove was confirmed to have contracted the deadly virus on Thursday and was taken to hospital in London.

He is said to have caught the virus during a business event in Singapore. 

North Portslade Labour councillor Peter Atkinson said he and other councillors in the Portslade area were aware of the letter sent by the school.

He said: "We are asking for more information. What you don't want is panic.

"We need to get the facts and then, hopefully, when we have them we will be able to reassure people as they were reassured yesterday by Peter Kyle."

Brighton & Hove City Council took more than 24 hours to release a statement after the case was confirmed.