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Coronavirus: returning Britons to be 'safely isolated' for 14 days, says Hancock – latest news Coronavirus: returning Britons to be 'safely isolated' for 14 days, says Hancock – latest news
(32 minutes later)
Hundreds of Japanese and Americans airlifted out of city at heart of outbreak in China, with Australia to follow suit. All the latest news, liveHundreds of Japanese and Americans airlifted out of city at heart of outbreak in China, with Australia to follow suit. All the latest news, live
A plane evacuating 201 Americans from the Chinese city at the centre of the virus outbreak has arrived at a southern California military base after everyone onboard passed a health screening test in Anchorage, where the aircraft had stopped to refuel, the Associated Press reports.
The jet landed shortly after 8am local time at March Air Reserve Base about 60 miles (96km) east of Los Angeles. Ground crew dressed in white protective clothing approached the aircraft shortly after it landed and three charter-style buses parked near the plane. Federal and local public health officials scheduled a media briefing for later in the morning.
All the passengers already underwent two health screenings in China and were screened twice more in Anchorage by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. One passenger received medical attention for a minor injury that happened before boarding the airplane in China, Dr Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, told reporters after the plane left.
A major international summit on biodiversity set to take place in China next month is under threat because of the coronavirus outbreak, Patrick Greenfield reports.
The Chinese government and the United Nations are now considering postponing the planned negotiations for a Paris-style agreement on biodiversity, which had been due to take place between 24 and 29 February.
Biodiversity experts and government policy makers were set to meet in Kunming, Yunnan to discuss plans to protect a third of the world’s oceans and land by 2030. The United Nations told the Guardian that they are reviewing the in consultation with the Chinese government, the WHO and other agencies.
The British government is urgently pressing Beijing to allow dual nationals to leave China after public outcry over families being split up during the coronavirus evacuations, reports my colleague Jess Murray.The British government is urgently pressing Beijing to allow dual nationals to leave China after public outcry over families being split up during the coronavirus evacuations, reports my colleague Jess Murray.
Only British passport holders who do not also hold Chinese nationality are being allowed to leave. The British embassy in Beijing is urging the Chinese to let dependents of British nationals and British-Chinese dual nationals leave too.Only British passport holders who do not also hold Chinese nationality are being allowed to leave. The British embassy in Beijing is urging the Chinese to let dependents of British nationals and British-Chinese dual nationals leave too.
“Our priority is to keep British nationals and their family members together and we have urgently raised this with the Chinese authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said on Wednesday.“Our priority is to keep British nationals and their family members together and we have urgently raised this with the Chinese authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, raised the issue of dual nationals with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, but the Chinese government has maintained its stance.The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, raised the issue of dual nationals with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, but the Chinese government has maintained its stance.
The World Health Organization’s emergency committee will meet on Thursday, the third time in a week, to evaluate whether the new coronavirus spreading from China constitutes an international emergency, the WHO said.The World Health Organization’s emergency committee will meet on Thursday, the third time in a week, to evaluate whether the new coronavirus spreading from China constitutes an international emergency, the WHO said.
“The committee will advise the director general on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), and what recommendations should be made to manage it,” the WHO said in a statement issued in Geneva before a news briefing by senior WHO expert Mike Ryan on his return from China.“The committee will advise the director general on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), and what recommendations should be made to manage it,” the WHO said in a statement issued in Geneva before a news briefing by senior WHO expert Mike Ryan on his return from China.
The emergency committee, composed of 16 independent experts, twice last week declined to declare a global emergency. But today, the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who recently returned from a trip to China, tweeted that he would reconvene the committee to discuss whether such a declaration was now warranted.The emergency committee, composed of 16 independent experts, twice last week declined to declare a global emergency. But today, the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who recently returned from a trip to China, tweeted that he would reconvene the committee to discuss whether such a declaration was now warranted.
Sudan suspects that two of its citizens who returned to the country from China are infected with the new coronavirus, the information minister told Reuters.Sudan suspects that two of its citizens who returned to the country from China are infected with the new coronavirus, the information minister told Reuters.
One of the pair, a man and a woman, had been in the region of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the virus, said Faisal Saleh. Both are under medical checks.One of the pair, a man and a woman, had been in the region of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the virus, said Faisal Saleh. Both are under medical checks.
We will update if there is any further information or a confirmation on whether the pair are infected.We will update if there is any further information or a confirmation on whether the pair are infected.
Finland has announced its first confirmed case of coronavirus, in a tourist from Wuhan who was visiting Lapland, the Helsinki-based Swedish language paper Hufvudstadsbladet reports.Finland has announced its first confirmed case of coronavirus, in a tourist from Wuhan who was visiting Lapland, the Helsinki-based Swedish language paper Hufvudstadsbladet reports.
The patient has been quarantined at Lapland’s central hospital in Rovaniemi after developing symptoms and seeking medical help. About 15 people may have been exposed to the infection.The patient has been quarantined at Lapland’s central hospital in Rovaniemi after developing symptoms and seeking medical help. About 15 people may have been exposed to the infection.
Mika Salminen, the director of Finland’s institute of health and welfare said:Mika Salminen, the director of Finland’s institute of health and welfare said:
A fourth case of coronavirus has been confirmed in France, Le Parisien reports.A fourth case of coronavirus has been confirmed in France, Le Parisien reports.
The patient is a Chinese tourist from Hubei province of about 80 years old, according to details released at a press conference on Tuesday. The man was in intensive care at a Paris hospital.The patient is a Chinese tourist from Hubei province of about 80 years old, according to details released at a press conference on Tuesday. The man was in intensive care at a Paris hospital.
France was the first European country to confirm coronavirus infections, with three confirmed diagnoses announced last Friday.France was the first European country to confirm coronavirus infections, with three confirmed diagnoses announced last Friday.
More British scientists have been giving their reactions to the news that Britons evacuated from Wuhan will be placed in a 14-day quarantine.More British scientists have been giving their reactions to the news that Britons evacuated from Wuhan will be placed in a 14-day quarantine.
Prof Mark Harris, Professor of Virology, University of Leeds:Prof Mark Harris, Professor of Virology, University of Leeds:
Prof Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology, University of Nottingham:Prof Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology, University of Nottingham:
Damien Gayle here, taking over the live blog from my colleague Aamna Mohdin, who has finished for the day.Damien Gayle here, taking over the live blog from my colleague Aamna Mohdin, who has finished for the day.
If you have come across coronavirus news you think we need to look at, please do drop me a line. As usual, you can contact me via my Twitter account – @damiengayle – or via email on damien.gayle@theguardian.com.If you have come across coronavirus news you think we need to look at, please do drop me a line. As usual, you can contact me via my Twitter account – @damiengayle – or via email on damien.gayle@theguardian.com.
130 people have tested negative in the UK for coronavirus, according to the latest update from the Department of Health and Social Care.130 people have tested negative in the UK for coronavirus, according to the latest update from the Department of Health and Social Care.
The UK has asked the European Union for help to repatriate its citizens from Wuhan – two days before the country leaves the bloc.
Janez Lenarčič, the European commissioner for crisis management, listed the countries that have requested help from the EU at a press conference this afternoon. The list includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and the UK.
A 21-year-old British student in Beijing has been told she cannot leave her dorm room for 12 days after returning from a trip to Wuhan.
Georgia, who is at Tsinghua University, arrived in Wuhan on 12 January and returned to Beijing on 23 January after spending a few days in Dalian. She is showing no symptoms of the coronavirus but is quarantined to her room until 3 February.
She said:
Here’s some reactions from scientists in the UK to the news that British nationals will be evacuated from Wuhan and quarantined for 14 days.
Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said:
Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said:
A British teacher in Shanghai, who asked the Guardian to remain anonymous, is staying in China after he was unable to get a visa for his young daughter.
“We were unable to get out and now airlines are shutting down flights. We are safely back in our apartment and trying to relax and make the best of the situation. We have food to last around two weeks but obviously we are a little concerned.
“We’ve got two small children and with the situation rapidly changing we are becoming more and more isolated. I think this raises many questions about the British government’s policies on family and citizenship. It’s incredibly hard to stay as a family and be mobile internationally if you’re in a ‘mixed citizenship’ family. We will only leave if we can go together.”
Japan and the US have airlifted hundreds of their citizens from Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, as officials in China said the death toll from the disease had risen sharply overnight to 132, with nearly 1,500 new cases in the country.
A government-chartered plane carrying 206 Japanese nationals arrived in Tokyo from Wuhan on Wednesday morning. Officials said four of the passengers – a woman and three men – had coughs and fevers and had been taken to a hospital in separate ambulances for treatment and further tests.
Two of the four showed symptoms of pneumonia following scans, but a coronavirus diagnosis has not been confirmed, hospital representatives said.
Officials in the US said a chartered plane had landed in Anchorage, Alaska, with about 240 US citizens onboard, including staff from the US consulate in Wuhan.
More details have come through about the German plans for evacuation and quarantine. The health minister, Jens Spahn, said he expected the federal government to reach an agreement with authorities in the state of Hesse in the next few hours to get an evacuation of German citizens from China under way.
Spahn said Germany wanted to fly out citizens in the province of Hubei as quickly as possible but wanted to ensure the evacuation was well prepared before evacuees were transported to Frankfurt, the capital of Hesse.
“We are therefore in close contact with the Hessian authorities to come to a solution between the federal government and authorities there and I assume that we will succeed in that in the next few hours so that the plane can take off quickly,” he told reporters.
China watchers have picked up on the way discontent with the authorities is rumbling – and finding an outlet online.
Chenchen Zhang, a lecturer at Queens University Belfast, points out that legal authorities took issue with apparent punitive measures taken against some people for allegedly spreading false information.
That intervention was followed up by a post on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging website, saying the eight people were “criticised and educated” rather than being “punished”. Cue criticism from the public …
The French drugmaker Sanofi has said it is postponing all its events in China and has asked employees to stop all travel to and from Wuhan and Hubei province in China.
The company said it had no plans to repatriate French employees from China over the spread of the new coronavirus.
Germany’s health ministry has said quarantine plans will be put in place for people returning from China on evacuation flights, according to Reuters. Germany’s health minister says he expects agreement on evacuation within hours.
At least four cases have been confirmed in Germany, making it the second European country to report cases after France.
Lufthansa is waiting before it follows the example of British Airways in suspending flights to China. “We are monitoring the situation very closely,” a Lufthansa spokesman told Deutsche Welle.
All flights to and from China are running on schedule though the airline said it had observed a “slight reluctance to book”.
Britain’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, is facing questions on social media after maintaining a relatively low profile in the media over the past week.
His tweet about people returning from China being isolated for 14 days prompted a query from Clare Wenham, an assistant professor in global health policy at the London School of Economics, about the legal implications of the government’s policy.
Others informed Hancock that the government’s response was “pathetically slow” and criticised “confusing messaging”.
The FT’s Tom Hancock, in China, contrasts the UK policy to that of the US.