Three Staffordshire Police officers sent home over custody coronavirus fears
Three members of Staffordshire Police have been sent home after a woman in custody was tested for coronavirus.
The woman, who is not from the UK, was arrested in Burton and taken to Northern Area Custody in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: "Three members of Staffordshire Police are staying at home as a precautionary measure after reports that a woman who had been detained in custody was unwell.
"The woman, who is a non-UK national, was arrested in Burton and taken to Northern Area Custody in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday.
"Tests have taken place but health officials believe it is ‘highly unlikely’ the woman has Covid-19 (coronavirus).
"The results of the tests will be known later this week and in the meantime the two police constables and a PCSO are staying at home as a precautionary measure in accordance with NHS guidelines."
Meanwhile an evacuation flight for Britons stuck on a cruise ship docked off the coast of Japan over coronavirus fears will leave Tokyo on Friday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.
Mr Raab said information has been provided to those registered for the flight, but he urged "other British nationals still seeking to leave to contact us".
He added: "We will continue to support British nationals who wish to stay in Japan."
The update comes as authorities in Tokyo said two elderly Japanese passengers taken off the ship have died from the virus.
There were 78 British passengers on the cruise liner when cases of the coronavirus strain known as Covid-19 started to emerge, including honeymooners Alan Steele and Wendy Marshall Steele from Tettenhall.
Mr Steele spent two weeks in hospital in Tokyo after testing positive for the virus but was released this week.
