Your health care professionals are well placed to advise on coronavirus says local pharmacist

"Based on experience as a pharmacist working in primary care in Newcastle, I can assure local people that we receive rapid communication from Public Health England, which in turn enables health care professionals to give the best advice to the public", says Cllr Ali Avaei.

"I am confident that NHS and Public Health England are well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases like coronavirus. This preparation is not something that have only started days or weeks ago. The Civil Contingencies Secretariat was created in July 2001, within the British Cabinet Office, and is responsible for emergency planning in the UK. So preparation for pandemics like this is an ongoing process which means Public Health England, and in turn all care providing organisations, are well equipped to deal with them.

"The approach taken by NHS is to identify potential cases of COVID 19 (coronavirus), isolate them and contain the virus. This model is the most suitable to protect patients, GP services, pharmacy services and our emergency departments."