LONDON 1 Mar (ANA) - Twelve more patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of UK cases to 35.

Three patients were close contacts of a known case which was transmitted in the UK, chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty said.

One person from Essex had "no relevant travel" and it was unclear how they had contracted the virus.

Out of the remaining eight cases, six had recently returned from Italy and two had been to Iran.

Prof Whitty said these patients were from London, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Bury Council confirmed that the Greater Manchester case was one of its residents, who had become infected in Italy.

On Friday, a man from Surrey became the first person to be infected within the UK. 

The patient, who is being treated at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in central London, had not been abroad recently - unlike the other cases in the country.

As of 09:00 GMT on Sunday, the Department of Health said a total of 11,750 people had been tested in the UK. 

The latest positive tests come after three more cases were confirmed in England on Saturday.

One of those was a member of staff at St Mary's School in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, the primary school said on Sunday. 

That follows another school - Willow Bank Infant School in Woodley, Berkshire - confirming that one of its staff had been infected.(ANA)

FA/ANA/1 March 2020--------