One of the first two people to test positive for coronavirus in the UK is a student at the University of York.

The university said while the news will cause "concern and anxiety among our students, staff, and the wider community", the risk of infection is low.

A spokesman said the student is not believed to have come into contact with anyone on campus while they had symptoms.

The student and another member of their family are being treated at a specialist unit in Newcastle.

They had been staying at Staycity apartment-hotel in York and were taken to hospital on Wednesday evening.

Health chiefs confirmed on Friday that they had tested positive for the virus – which has killed 259 people in China.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Search for 2000 people who travelled to UK from Wuhan

The university has advised people concerned about their health in relation to the disease to call 111, and have also set up a call centre over the weekend.

The spokesman said: "Our immediate concerns are for the affected student and family, along with the health and continued wellbeing of our staff, students and visitors."

Public Health England is continuing to work to try to trace people who had close contact – defined as being within two metres of the infected person for 15 minutes – with the pair.

The hotel firm has said the apartment involved has been thoroughly disinfected and PHE has been providing support.

The University of Derby confirmed "a very small number" of students who came back from Wuhan before travel restrictions were put in place are self-isolating for 14 days.

A spokeswoman for the university said all the students are fit and well.

Meanwhile, 83 British nationals evacuated from Wuhan have spent their first night of two weeks in quarantine, having arrived at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral in a convoy of six coaches on Friday evening.

One of the people on the rescue flight – which also carried 27 non-UK nationals to Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire – described the accommodation at the NHS staff accommodation block in Merseyside as "perfectly nice".

In a video blog from inside his room Matt Raw told the Guardian: "They've actually put a bag here containing various essentials that we might need - underwear and things that people might not have had time to pack.

"It's a perfectly nice room. We've got all the essentials that we need."

The evacuees have been supplied with food, and laundry facilities, and have access to the internet and a team of medical staff who will closely monitor their conditions.

Kitchens are available for those who wish to self-cater, and families are being kept together, with games consoles, toys and cots provided.

Coaches which transported the evacuees were seen parked in a fenced-off area of the staff car park at the hospital on Saturday morning. It is understood they will be taken away to be decontaminated later.

In another development on Saturday the Foreign Office announced it is withdrawing some staff from China.

The National:

It said essential staff will remain to continue "critical work" but warned that its ability to provide help to Britons in the country may be "limited".

The British Consulate-General in Wuhan was also closed on Friday after the evacuation flight.

UK ministers have said the Government will send another plane to Wuhan to rescue British citizens if needed and the Foreign Office (FCO) is working with EU countries to add British passengers to any rescue flights they may charter back from the city.

One Briton in Wuhan has told of his fears of being left stranded after deciding he could not leave his wife behind.

READ MORE: What is coronavirus and how dangerous is it?

Chris Hill, 38, from Sunderland said: "My wife is a nurse and is not able to get the time off and will not abandon her parents. I am not willing to leave her behind and take my daughter. It's either we all go or we all stay in Wuhan."

The National:

He added: "I had to make a choice which I did. My only worry now is after everybody pulls out the FCO will forget about those who are staying and not give any support for us."

He said the departure of embassy staff was "not a good sight to see really, is it?"

Some reports on social media raised concerns that Paddington station had been cordoned off on Friday night due to a suspected coronavirus case.

But while the London Ambulance Service said two people had been taken to hospital from the station, it is understood the patients are not suspected of having the virus and the station was operational as normal on Saturday.

On Thursday, the UK's four Chief Medical Officers raised the risk level of the illness from low to moderate and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an international public health emergency.

The United States declared a public health emergency on Friday night, with President Donald Trump signing an order which will temporarily bar entry for most foreign nationals who have travelled in China within the last 14 days.

The National:

A total of 201 tests for coronavirus in the UK have been confirmed negative, the Department of Health said in the latest figures released on Saturday afternoon.

The death toll in China from the virus had risen to 259, with the number of known cases rising from 9962 to 11,791, officials in the country said.

No deaths have occurred outside China, although cases have been confirmed across at least 23 countries.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed that of the Sars epidemic, although death rates are lower.

Qatar Airways has announced the suspension of flights to mainland China from February 3, following in the footsteps of other major airlines including British Airways.

Many other countries, including Australia, South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand have said they plan to quarantine evacuees for two weeks to avoid spread of the virus.

Russia, Mongolia and North Korea have also announced that they will close their land borders with China to guard against the spread of the virus.