TWO of the four new cases of coronavirus are healthcare workers.

Public Health England medical director, Yvonne Doyle said all four of the patients announced today were "closely linked to one another".

This had been learned through "contact tracing".

This followed confirmation earlier today that a Brighton GP had been diagnosed with the virus.

She said: "Our priority has been to speak to those who have close and sustained contact with confirmed cases, so we can advise them on what they can do to limit the spread of the virus.

"Two of these new cases are healthcare workers and as soon as they were identified, we advised them to self-isolate in order to keep patient contact to a minimum.

"We are now working urgently to identify all patients and other healthcare workers who may have come into close contact, and at this stage we believe this to be a relatively small number.  

"We would like thank all those who have followed public health advice and have taken the necessary steps to reduce the risk to the general public."

The County Oak Medical Centre in Carden Hill, Brighton, shut suddenly this morning.

It has since been confirmed that a GP at the centre has tested positive for coronavirus.

It is understood that the coronavirus patient did one day of admin work but did not treat any patients.