An isolation pod for those with suspected coronavirus has been built at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.

It's to ensure anyone suspected as having the virus is kept away from other patients and avoid causing pressure on A&E.

Anyone with a cough, fever or shortness of breath who attends the hospital and has recently returned from one of the specified countries will be advised to follow signs to the pod and call for advice.

It will be decontaminated if a patient shows symptoms of the virus.

There have not been any confirmed cases of coronavirus in Dorset at the current time.

An NHS spokesman said: “Anyone returning from Hubei province (in China) in the past 14 days should stay indoors, avoid contact with other people and call NHS 111 whether or not they are showing symptoms.

“Anyone with a cough, fever or shortness of breath who attends hospital and has recently returned from one of the specified countries, will be advised to follow signs to NHS 111 pods and call for advice, so they stay isolated from other patients and avoid causing unnecessary pressure in A&E.”

The NHS is trialling swabbing in the community with the view to roll out nationally to make this process quicker and easier.

If you have travelled from Wuhan or Hubei Province to the UK in the past 14 days you should immediately:

* Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu

* Call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the area

You should follow this advice even if you do not have symptoms of the virus.

Travellers who have returned to the UK from the following areas in the past 14 days should also stay indoors and avoid contact with other people, as you would with the flu, and call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the country if you've developed symptoms of cough or fever or shortness of breath:

* China

* Thailand

* Japan

* Republic of Korea

* Hong Kong

* Taiwan

* Singapore

* Malaysia

* Macau