THE leader of Darlington Borough Council has confirmed that Cabinet members will meet on Thursday morning to finalise plans for dealing with coronavirus in the town.

After the first case of the virus was confirmed in Darlington today, Cllr Heather Scott said: "The council and its partners will gather on Thursday for a special cabinet meeting to discuss various plans, but we can reassure the residents of Darlington that they are safe and we have robust plans to deal with this situation.

"We understand the individual concerned is self-isolating at the moment and we really hope that person will recover and is safe going forward."

Councillor Kevin Nicholson, the council's cabinet member for housing and health, urged the public not to worry and to follow trusted health advice.

He said: "This is currently an isolated case and we would urge people to follow the advice being issued by Public Health England about handwashing and keeping safe.

"It is an evolving situation and we, at the council, are making sure we are up to date with the current advice to enable us to protect our communities.

"As a council we also have a plan and we will be meeting on Thursday to discuss matters further, which includes plans for the town and plans for our own staff. We need to make sure all the right procedures are in place.

"People need to follow the advice that has been given and phone NHS 111 if they need to. I would also suggest that people look to the NHS website for more information."