Uber have suspended the account of a driver who dropped a woman later diagnosed with coronavirus to Lewisham hospital.

The ride-hailing company have confirmed one of their drivers transported an individual, thought to be a Chinese woman, to the hospital on Sunday.

Test results confirmed her diagnosis on Wednesday. 

Two hospital staff are now in quarantine, while the patient receives treatment at another London hospital.

An Uber spokeswoman said: "We received a request from Public Health England for information about a passenger who has now been confirmed as having coronavirus.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we temporarily suspended the account of the driver who transported the individual to hospital, and we remain in close contact with Public Health England.

"We have a dedicated online portal for public health authorities to contact Uber for information about riders and drivers, and we will take action on any user accounts on the recommendation of those authorities."

Uber have not confirmed when the account was suspended or whether the driver picked up other passengers after completing the trip to Lewisham Hospital.

Public Health England have however said that the driver is not considered high risk.

Dr Rachel Thorn Heathcock, consultant at Public Health England, said: "We are in contact with Uber to ensure the driver receives advice and information on what to do should they feel unwell in the coming days.

"As the journey was less than 15 minutes, the driver did not have close sustained contact with the individual and is not considered high risk."

Lewisham hospital said the patient was taken to a "purpose built pod" and did not come into contact with other patients.

Ben Travis, Chief Executive of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, said: "There has been a confirmed case of Coronavirus from a patient who self-presented at the A&E department of University Hospital Lewisham on Sunday February 9.

"The test result was confirmed as positive on Wednesday February 12 and we have been in touch with all staff who came into contact with the patient. The patient went to St Thomas’ yesterday evening.

"Our colleagues in our emergency departments are following the latest advice and protocols from Public Health England."

"In this case, the patient self-presented at our A&E.

"As soon as the patient did this, the patient was given a mask and then escorted to be tested in the dedicated area we have assigned for Coronavirus testing outside the A&E building – while awaiting the installation of a purpose-built “pod”.

"As further assessment was required, the patient was then taken to a dedicated isolation room in the Emergency Department.

"All staff who had direct contact with the patient have been contacted, including two members of staff who are undergoing active surveillance at home for a 14 day period as a precautionary measure – following the advice of Public Health England."