A GROUP of surgeries will now be focussing on Covid-19 patients only, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Three Chequers Medical Practice is now working on critical patient needs only, and the team said this will be the case "for the forseeable future".

Three Swans Surgery, Rollestone Street, and Porton Surgery, Winterslow Road, will be 'cold' sites, for patients without a temperature, and the St Ann Street Surgery will be a 'hot' site for those with a cough or temperature.

Winterslow Doctors Surgery has closed temporarily, and the Endless Street Surgery in Salisbury is a clinical phone hub and patient-free zone.

In a letter from the partners, GPs and team at Three Chequers Medical Practice, it reminded patients that there are online resources available for "self-managing simple conditions", and GPs are working remotely to "provide resilience to our clinical teams".

The letter added: "Thank you for the understanding and supporting us through this.

"As the hospital is no longer accepting routine referrals for any condition, we request that all routine requests are held back until this storm is over. Normal services will resume once we are all clear.

"We will get through this together."