THE government has confirmed there are 15 cases of the coronavirus in the South West.

As of March 5, there were a total of 115 cases in the UK, and 18,083 people had been tested.

On Wednesday, the department of health and social care said they would not be releasing the locations of cases daily, instead releasing a condensed list every Friday.

A day later, however, they did a U-turn and are announcing the cases daily, per region rather than county.

The south east had17 cases, east of England had eight, the midlands had nine, north east 10, north west 17 and London had the most with 25.

A spokesperson for Public Health Dorset, however, said there are no currently no confirmed cases in the county.

St. Aldhelm’s Academy in Poole announced in a letter to parents that all the tests for their students had come back as negative.

Previously, schools across Dorset had taken precautionary measure for students and staff.

These included St. Aldhelm’s Academy, Jewell Academy, Broadstone Middle School, Corfe Hills, Queen Elizabeth’s and Ballard School were self-isolating after showing symptoms of the virus.

A lot of the schools had travelled to northern Italy on half term ski trips.

However, none of the schools had any positive tests.

Elsewhere, the Wessex Football League has temporarily suspended handshakes pre and post-match amid coronavirus fears.

The ban stopped handshakes before the matches as part of the RESPECT campaign, at the coin toss prior to kick off and after the matches.

Furthermore, the producers of No Time To Die, the new James Bond film, was also pushed back to November due to a “thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace”.

The government have urged people to ensure they are washing their hands regularly and with soap.

People should also make sure to catch coughs or sneezes in a tissue which is then binned.

If anybody has recently returned from the areas where there are a high number of cases, they should check the traveller advice on the government’s website.