Coronavirus: Brits returning from Wuhan face two weeks in quarantine
British citizens being flown back to the UK from the Chinese city of Wuhan tomorrow will be put in quarantine for two weeks as a precaution against coronavirus.
The government will evacuate Britons from Wuhan, where the outbreak started, and the surrounding Hubei province as the virus spreads across China. Hundreds could be flown home.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “We are working hard to get British nationals back from Wuhan.
“Public safety is the top priority. Anyone who returns from Wuhan will be safely isolated for 14 days, with all neccessary medical attention.”
The 200 UK citizens may be quarantined in a British military barracks tomorrow.
Australia, which is flying 600 citizens back, will quarantine them for two weeks on Christmas Island, 1,200 miles from the mainland.
Coronavirus has now claimed 132 lives while the number of cases has hit 5,974. All deaths are so far inside China.
British Airways has stopped flights to Beijing and Shanghai in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” a spokesperson said.
The airline’s decision followed advice from the Foreign Office, which urged UK citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to China.
Cathay Pacific Airways, Air Canada and United Airlines have also cancelled some flights to mainland China.
The coronavirus has spread rapidly across China and to 16 other countries, although it has not yet caused any deaths abroad.
Germany and France are the only European country to report cases so far. Almost 100 people in the UK have been tested for the virus, but all have returned negative results.
Yesterday, ITV reported that a man from Birmingham has been put into isolation after coming down with flu-like symptoms following his return from Wuhan on New Year’s Eve.
Drew Bennet, 39, is currently in isolation at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Hong Kong stocks tumble
Fears over the economic impact of coronavirus have weighed on stocks in recent days.
Having been closed for the Lunar New Year, the Hong Kong stock index slumped three per cent overnight in its first day’s trading since the break.
European stocks have been more sanguine this morning after a sharp fall on Monday. The FTSE 100 had risen 0.1 per cent, Germany’s Dax had also climbed 0.1 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 had risen 0.3 per cent.
“The lack of market weakness aside from those countries affected serves to highlight a secondary phase which sees Asian markets diverge from European and US indices,” said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at trading platform IG.
Neil Mackinnon, global macro strategist at Russian bank VTB Capital, said: “Equity markets hope that the economic and financial effects of the virus are containable with little impact on global or Chinese GDP growth.”
Yet he cautioned that “such a view might be over-optimistic”.
“The downside risk is that an early end to the virus does not happen and the adverse impact on the global economy is more than expected.”