A mother today spoke of her relief that her son was heading home from China after the UK Government advised Britons to leave the country.
Caroline Moss, 54, said her son Matthew Charlton, 30, has been teaching English to primary school students in Shanghai for five years.
He paid £500 for an Air China flight home and is due to arrive into Gatwick at around 6am tomorrow.
Mrs Moss, from Leicestershire, told the Standard: “He was reluctant to come back.
“He feels as though, from what he’s seen in the way it’s being handled there, they’re taking it very seriously. They’ve put in a massive amount of precautionary measures.”
She added: “It’s just the relief of knowing that he’s coming home. We’re all hoping that it is short-lived and that he can get back out there.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday urged around 30,000 British nationals “to get out now”.
The UK Government is due to charter a plane from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, on Sunday. So far, 94 UK nationals and family members have been evacuated on two flights from Wuhan.
For Britons in other parts of China, the scramble to leave has been hampered by airlines including British Airways and Virgin cancelling all flights to and from the country.
