One year since first patients tested for Covid at Essex hospitals

On February 12, 2020, Dean Rowland took to social media  to confirm he was in isolation at Basildon Hospital after undergoing tests. 

The fiance of ex-Towie star Harry Derbidge was tested for the coronavirus after returning from Thailand. 

He posted a picture on Instagram of him wearing a facemask at Basildon Hospital. 

He stated he had been suffering from flu-like symptoms after returning from a holiday in Thailand. 

He said: "I've basically been really ill with flu the last few days and as I have recently visited Thailand my doctors thought it would be best that I am tested for Corona virus.

"Tests are now done and I will be isolated for the next few days until my results come back."

At the time more than 45,000 patients had caught the virus across the world and at least 1,100 had died.

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A day later two women who were travelling in Asia were tested for the coronavirus in Southend.

The women had gone travelling in Singapore, Malaysia and other areas of the continent when they returned home last week.

The women returned to the country on January 30, and began to show symptoms of the virus on Thursday last week.

They called the NHS's 111 service with their fears on Friday, who then informed Southend Hospital they would be attending to be tested.

The woman in her 50s, who asked not to be named, said: "We had got back and were showing the symptoms.

"We'd telephoned the NHS and went down to Southend on Friday to be tested.

The isolation pod at Southend Hospital

"They had to test us in the car park outside. We were walking around with staff in hazmat suits to be tested."

The women received the results directly from Public Health England on Tuesday that the tests were negative, but due to the countries they had travelled in were advised to isolate themselves for 14 days from the day they arrived back to the UK.

She added: "It was really unnerving and people were staring at us, but we both got cleared.

"We've now isolated ourselves at our own homes, my friend is at hers and I'm still home now."

At the time no one in Essex had tested positive for the virus. The first case was confirmed on March 1.

Since March 137,922 people have tested positive for the virus in the county.