Eighty-three Britons and twenty-seven Foreign Nationals arrive in the UK at RAF Brize Norton (Oxfordshire) after being evacuated from China.
This afternoon the Boeing 747 flown by Wamos airlines departed from Wuhan, China, late last night. There is a small team of medics on the flight to care for any passengers that may require help.
Medical teams and transport for the Britons await them as they depart from the aircraft.
The UK have introduced advanced monitoring at airports with direct flights from China.
A team of public health experts has been established in Heathrow to support anyone travelling in from China who feels unwell. These hubs will bring in rotational teams of 7 clinicians, working in shifts, who will be on hand to support patients on arrival. This is in addition to medical staff who are already permanently in place at all UK airports and the advice issued to all UK airports for people travelling to and from China. China has also introduced port-of-exit screening so people already exhibiting symptoms are not allowed to leave the country.
Government Advice
People are asked to take simple, common-sense steps to avoid close contact with other people as much as possible, like they would with other flu viruses.
This means remaining at home for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan or Hubei Province (or elsewhere in China if you have symptoms) and not going to work, school or public areas.
Where possible, you should avoid having visitors to your home, but it’s ok for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food.
Most people who develop symptoms will get them after leaving the airport and so the priority is providing UK residents and travellers with the latest information to make sure they know what to do if they experience symptoms, and the NHS and PHE have an established plan to respond to someone who becomes unwell.
If you have travelled from Wuhan or Hubei Province to the UK in the last 14 days you should immediately:
- stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu
- call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the area
If you are in Northern Ireland, call your GP.
Please follow this advice even if you do not have symptoms of the virus.
What is coronavirus?
A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. Typical symptoms of coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
Generally, coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.
Novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China.
Diagnosis
Based on current evidence, novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) presents with flu-like symptoms including a fever, a cough, or difficulty breathing.
The current evidence is that most cases appear to be mild. Those who have died in Wuhan appear to have had pre-existing health conditions.
The UK is now one of the first countries outside China to have a prototype specific laboratory test for this new disease.
Update 9th February
On Sunday the 9th of February 2020, various personnel including medical staff from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and Royal Air Force (RAF) were recovered from Wuhan, China.
Also on the Wamos Air 747 were personnel from other nations such as France, Italy and Denmark. Many on board were women and children.
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