A national exercise is being held to test Britain's readiness for an ebola outbreak, with actors simulating symptoms of the deadly virus.
Government ministers will join dozens of medical professionals, some of whom will wear protective equipment, for the eight-hour drill in locations across the country.
Sky sources understand one of the locations that has been a part of the exercise is the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where a two-hour drill was conducted.
A simulated meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency committee will also be held, chaired by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Meanwhile, aid ship RFA Argus, which is to be sent to Sierra Leone next week to help fight the outbreak, has arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall, to be loaded with medical supplies before being deployed to West Africa.
It will carry three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport and support to medical teams and aid workers there.
The exercise was ordered by David Cameron as part of the UK's contingency plan against ebola, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.
It comes after the Prime Minister was forced to defend the decision to introduce enhanced screening for the virus at major points of entry, saying it had been taken on "medical advice".
Questions have been raised about the checks, with a spokesman for Gatwick saying the airport had not been given any instructions about how the screening should be carried out.
The move was also criticised by health experts, with one describing it as a "complete waste of time", while Labour MP Keith Vaz said the lack of precise information was "shambolic".
Mr Cameron said: "What we do is listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice, and that's why we are introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports.
"What we are focusing on as a country is taking action right across the board to deal with this problem at source."
The Department of Health has said it will provide further details about ebola screenings at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar terminals next week.
The department has not revealed the locations of the national exercise, although a spokeswoman said it has been planning its response to an ebola case in the UK "for many months now".
"It is vital that we test these plans in as realistic a situation as possible - with real people," she said.
As well as ministers these will include hospital staff, the ambulance service and Public Health England.
The spokeswoman added: "It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low.
"The UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world with well-developed and well-tested systems for managing infectious disease."
:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the ebola crisis at 3.30pm today and 3.30pm on Sunday - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.
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