Around 120 Britons will fly from the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak overnight and land in the UK on Friday morning where they will be taken to Wirral for a fortnight’s quarantine.
It news came shortly before the risk level from the virus in the UK was raised from low to moderate and the World Health Organization declared it a global health emergency.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, announced that the emergency flight, which was delayed by 24 hours, would be taking off from Wuhan and was due to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at around 9am.
Military doctors will be onboard the chartered plane in case immediate treatment is necessary, although any passengers displaying symptoms of the virus – which can include a sore throat, fever and breathing difficulties – will be barred from boarding.
It is understood there will be a quarantine area in the plane in case somebody falls ill during the flight.
The returnees will be bussed to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral where they will be monitored and treated if any symptoms develop. They will be staying in an accommodation block usually designated for NHS staff. Margaret Greenwood, the Labour MP for Wirral West, said she had spoken to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, who told her that experts believed it was unlikely that those quarantined had the virus.
Passengers were asked to sign contracts agreeing to the 14-day quarantine as a condition of getting the flight home. A further 50 EU nationals will also be on the chartered flight, which will fly on to Spain where it will complete its journey.
What is the virus causing illness in Wuhan?
It is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals, or possibly seafood. New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are examples.
What other coronaviruses have there been?
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals.
What are the symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus?
The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died are known to have been already in poor health.
Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?
Human to human transmission has been confirmed by China’s national health commission. As of January 30, the death toll in China stands at 170, with 7,711 confirmed cases of infections. In the past week, the number of confirmed infections has more than tripled and cases have been found in 13 provinces, as well as the municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin. The virus has also been confirmed outside China, in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam. There have been two confirmed cases in the UK. The actual number to have contracted the virus could be far higher as people with mild symptoms may not have been detected. Modelling by WHO experts at Imperial College London suggests there could be as many as 100,000 cases, with uncertainty putting the margins between 30,000 and 200,000.
How worried are the experts?
There were fears that the coronavirus might spread more widely during the week-long lunar new year holidays, which start on 24 January, when millions of Chinese travel home to celebrate, but the festivities have largely been cancelled and Wuhan and other Chinese cities are in lockdown.
At what point should you go to the doctor if you have a cough, say?
Unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected with the virus, then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal. The NHS advises that there is generally no need to visit a doctor for a cough unless it is persistent or you are having other symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or you feel very unwell.
Should we panic?
No. The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. It increases the likelihood that the World Health Organization will declare the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday evening. The key concerns are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital.
Sarah Boseley Health editor and Hannah Devlin
Raab said: “We are pleased to have confirmation from the Chinese authorities that the evacuation flight from Wuhan airport to the UK can depart at 0500 local time on Friday 31 January. The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority. Our embassy in Beijing and consular teams remain in close contact with British nationals in the region to ensure they have the latest information they need.”
Some Britons with family members who hold a Chinese passport have decided to remain in Wuhan because they faced being separated if they had chosen to travel.
Matt Raw and his 75-year-old mother, Hazel, were entitled to a place on the flight but are staying in Wuhan as Matt’s wife, Ying, a Chinese national, was not allowed to board because of strict rules imposed by the Chinese government.
“I would hate for anything to happen to [my mother] and I would much rather be somewhere where the virus isn’t,” said Raw. “Half of the British people here that wanted to leave are still trapped. The government’s only done half the job.”
The death toll from the virus, which has spread to at least 16 countries, has reached 170, and there are more than 7,700 confirmed cases in China. A total of 161 British nationals have so far tested negative for the virus.
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, said it was “highly likely” there would be a positive case in the UK in the coming days.
On Thursday night the four chief medical officers of the UK increased the risk level of
coronavirus from low to moderate. They said they “do not think the risk to
individuals in the UK has changed” but that the government should “plan for all eventualities”.
The WHO said its decision to declare it a global emergency was no criticism of China but was designed to provide support for countries with “weaker health systems which are ill prepared to deal with [the coronavirus]”.
A British woman in Wuhan who claimed she was told she would have to leave her three-year-old son behind if she flew out because he had a Chinese passport said the Foreign Office was in discussions with counterparts in the country about her situation.
Natalie Francis, originally from York, said on Wednesday that Foreign Office staff in London told her she could leave on a flight but that her son Jamie must stay. She said she was told “nothing can be done”.
“He suffered from pneumonia last year and the only advice they can give is for me to leave him behind? Once again, thank you for nothing [Foreign Office] and Beijing embassy,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
However, Francis suggested in an update on Thursday morning that there might have been some progress on the matter, writing: “Been in touch with the [Foreign Office], Jamie and I are on the lists but they are still discussing with the Chinese government. Flight has been delayed but may be [leaving on] Friday with quarantine in the north-west for 14 days.”
The first US case of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus has been confirmed by health officials. The individual is married to a Chicago woman who was diagnosed with the virus after she returned from a trip to Wuhan.
Elsewhere, an Italian cruise ship carrying 6,000 passengers was held at a port near Rome after two Chinese passengers fell ill with suspected coronavirus.
The couple boarded the Costa Smeralda on 25 January and later came down with fevers and breathing problems. However, local reports suggested they had tested negative.
An apartment-hotel in Yorkshire was put on lockdown after a man believed to be a Chinese national was taken to hospital on Wednesday evening by paramedics clad in quarantine suits.
York’s Staycity Hotel confirmed that the apartment where the man was staying had been sealed off and would undergo “a thorough environmental clean and disinfection”.
British Airways announced it would suspend flights to and from China to the end of February, one of a number of carriers stopping or reducing services to the affected country.
Russia closed its border with China and moved to stop issuing electronic visas to Chinese nationals. The prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, pledged: “We have to do everything to protect our people.”
As China reported its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths, the country’s football association cancelled all domestic games.
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