It is understood that an Andover man has been struck down with a case of coronavirus.

Prior to the diagnosis he had visited the town’s leisure centre, on Saturday afternoon, prompting site bosses to make the call to close the facility on Sunday.

Many details remain unclear at this stage but here is what we know so far.

What happened?

On Sunday afternoon, Places Leisure i the organisation that runs the centre in Andover - published a statement to say their West Street site would be shut “for a minimum of 24 hours” as a “precautionary measure for a deep clean”.

It comes after a man tested positive for coronavirus, or Covid-19, having “briefly attended” the site the day before to collect someone.

Who was the man?

The person has not yet been identified.

Councillor Phil North, leader of Test Valley Borough Council, said in a statement that the man had visited the leisure centre between 3pm and 4pm in what is described as a “dry side visit” to collect someone.

This means he did not enter the pool and nor is he understood to have used any equipment.

There are unconfirmed reports that the gentleman was collecting either his grandson or granddaughter.

What advice has been given out to those at Andover Leisure Centre yesterday?

At the moment, there is no specific advice for anyone who was at Andover Leisure Centre yesterday.

This may be concerning to people though general advice dictates that anyone unwell ought to telephone NHS 111 for more information.

If you are displaying symptoms of coronavirus – a cough, a high temperate, shortness of breath – then you are advised to self-isolate and alert your doctor.

However, it is also worth noting that the symptoms are very similar to other illnesses that are far more common, such as a cold or the flu. So just because you are displaying the above symptoms, does not mean you definitely have coronavirus.

Call 111 if you are in doubt.

My child has used the leisure centre recently - should I keep them away from school?

The general advice from the NHS is that if you or your children have attended the leisure centre and exhibit any of the above symptoms, they should stay off school and you should contact 111.

However, if parents or children have attended the leisure centre and feel fine, they are advised to attend school or work as normal. Only keep children off school or contact 111 if either you or they display symptoms in future.

Essentially, it all comes down to whether or not you’re displaying symptoms.

How long will the leisure centre be closed for?

The current word is that the centre will be closed for 24 hours from Sunday afternoon. This is the official timeframe provided by Places Leisure and Cllr North.

Cleaners at the site were also confident of finishing up the job within a few hours, and that the site would be functional on Monday.

In theory this means it could be open as early as Monday afternoon.

Why is it shut?

Places Leisure and Cllr North say that the centre has been closed under the advice of Public Health England.

However, when contacted by our reporter, Public Health England said it had no knowledge of the situation in Andover.

Either way, the centre remained closed throughout the day – although staff were seen inside the building – ahead of a professional clean in the evening.

Workers in hazmat suits were due to scour the site after 6pm to ensure no traces of the virus remain. During the day there had been no cleaners at the scene on while our reporter was present.

What does the clean entail?

Two cleaners arrived at the site at around 5.30pm this evening. They were allowed in at 6pm and after putting on their hazmat suits, they set about disinfecting the leisure centre.

The cleaners told our reporter at the scene that their work was less of a ‘deep clean’ and more of a sanitisation and disinfecting of surfaces.

They used a method called ‘electrostatic chemical wrapping’ to spray down surfaced with an electrically charged spray. The spray then has a dwell time on surfaces – around three minutes – after which the affected area is sanitised.

The cleaners explained that it’s a very efficient way of cleaning the site and meant that they could cover the entire building in a matter of hours.

What is happening nationally?

The Department of Health is giving daily updates of the number of new infections, tweeting out the figure at 2pm.

A student at Oxford University has been confirmed to have the disease, but they ‘did not attend any university or college events after they felt ill, when they subsequently self-isolated’.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged to give ‘whatever is necessary’ to the NHS in the fight against the virus, which was first identified in China and has since spread to dozens of countries around the world.

Calls to the NHS 111 service have increased by more than a third compared with the same period last year, with 120,000 extra calls in the first week of March, the Department of Health said.