Families torn apart in scramble for the last flight out of Wuhan: British husband is forced to leave his Chinese wife behind and others choose to STAY in coronavirus ground zero as death toll hits 132

• Jeff Siddle’s family being ripped apart because Beijing won’t allow his Chinese wife Sindy to fly back to UK
• He’ll be evacuated from Wuhan with daughter Jasmine, 9, as part of rescue mission by Brit government 
• Kharn Lambert, a Brit PE teacher stranded in virus epicentre, is giving up his seat on rescue flight for others
• He revealed British embassy in Beijing said no quarantine would be in place in UK and no transport provided 
• The lack of checks for when Brits return has sparked fears highly contagious virus will spread on home soil 

A British man trapped in Wuhan has today told of his heartbreak of having to leave his Chinese wife behind in the deserted city – because Beijing won’t allow her on tomorrow’s British evacuation flight.

Jeff Siddle, his wife Sindy and their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine chose to fly to the Hubei province – which has been crippled by the coronavirus epidemic – to spend time with his partner’s family and celebrate the Chinese New Year.

But in a cruel twist of events, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has revealed Sindy – who has had a visa for permanent residency in the UK since 2008 – will not be allowed to board a plane evacuating British nationals from Wuhan, set to fly tomorrow.  

Some 132 people have now died across China and more than 6,000 around the world have caught the highly infectious pneumonia-like infection, with cases tripling since Sunday and jumping 30 per cent in the last 24 hours.  

Talking to BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme from Wuhan, Mr Siddle said: ‘My wife’s a Chinese citizen, although she’s got a permanent residency visa for the UK as a spouse.

‘But what the foreign office is saying is they are going to be doing an airlift, possibly tomorrow, but it’s only [for] British citizens. Chinese authorities are not allowing any Chinese residents to leave. 

I was put in the position to make a decision to either leave my wife here in China, or the three of us stay here (in Wuhan). We have to basically have a nine-year-old child separated from their mother. Who knows how long that is going to be for?’

Other expats stranded in Wuhan and the wider Hubei province – including PE teacher Kharn Lambert and Malcolm Lanyon – have chosen to stay in the region. Mr Lambert said he had given up his seat on the rescue flight because he does not want ‘to come home and put everybody’s health at risk’, while Mr Lanyon refused to leave his Chinese wife behind. 

In other developments in the Wuhan coronavirus crisis: 

• Hundreds of British nationals stuck in coronavirus-hit Wuhan are gearing up to be flown back to London on Thursday via chartered plane in a landmark evacuation mission
• But they’ve been told no quarantine will be in place when they return to the UK  – sparking fears virus could spread on home soil
• Foreign Office will not provide transport for returning passengers, meaning they’ll have to find their own way home, and lock themselves indoors for two weeks to ‘self-quarantine’
• The Department of Health confirmed almost 100 people have now been tested for the deadly coronavirus in the UK – but all of them have come back as negative 
• A German man infected with the Wuhan coronavirus became the first European to catch the deadly illness outside of China
• Yesterday a Briton suspected of having coronavirus, who had returned from Wuhan, was loaded into an ambulance by a hazmat-clad paramedic in Birmingham  
• The British expert developing a vaccine against coronavirus says it has a ‘very good chance’ of being effective as he claims trials will start mid-February  
• A British citizen isolated in Wuhan has said he is too afraid to leave his flat for fear of infecting his nine-month-old daughter with the deadly coronavirus 

Jeff Siddle, his wife Sindy and their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine will be torn apart because Beijing won’t allow his Chinese wife on tomorrow’s British evacuation flight

The couple and their daughter chose to fly to the Hubei province – which has been crippled by the coronavirus epidemic – to spend time with his partner’s family and celebrate the Chinese New Year

The killer coronavirus outbreak has now killed 132 people and struck down more than 6,000. Cases have been spotted in Canada, US, France and Australia

A pilot wearing a protective suit parks a cargo plane at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province

A Boeing 747 arrives at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska after rescuing Americans from Wuhan yesterday

Wuhan residents wear facemasks as they wait for medical attention at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital to prevent the spread of the deadly virus which began in the city

British PE teacher Kharn Lambert is choosing to stay in the outbreak’s epicentre Wuhan to ‘give up his seat to others’. He revealed the Foreign Office told him Brits would have to make their own way home once they arrive back in London

The US

The US launched an emergency mission to repatriate 240 citizens yesterday, with a flight out of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.

On board the flight, which left before dawn local time, was diplomats from the US Consulate as well as other American citizens. One British dual national also boarded the flight. It is unclear whether any medics were on board to monitor passengers for signs of infection.

It made a refueling stop in Alaska and was due to fly on to Ontario, California – but it has since been diverted to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, where it is expected to land in the next few hours.

Passengers were screened before initially boarding in Wuhan, and then went through follow-up checks at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. The will be screened again once they arrive in California. It is thought they will be quarantined for at least 72 hours.

The Chinese partners of US citizens were banned from the rescue flight, reportedly at the demand of Beijing.

Japan

Japanese officials also chartered a flight from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to rescue 206 citizens stuck in the coronavirus-hit city.

The plane landed back at Haneda Airport in Tokyo this morning at around 9am local time after flying to Wuhan overnight.  

The flight was carrying emergency relief supplies including 15,000 masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves and 8,000 protective glasses for medics in Wuhan. Around four medical officials were also on board to monitor returning passengers.

Officials confirmed passengers would be tested for the coronavirus strain. Japan Times the evacuees would be asked to remain at home and isolate themselves to prevent the potential spread. 

France

France’s health minister Agnes Buzyn confirmed a plane will be sent for its stranded citizens on Thursday, to return home on Friday or Saturday. No further details have been given.

There are some 800 French citizens stranded in the Wuhan area. She said French nationals will be held in quarantine for two weeks on arrival to stop the virus spreading on home soil.

The European Union meanwhile said it would co-fund an airlift effort at France’s request, so that more than 100 nationals from other EU nations could be repatriated along with French citizens. 

Australia 

Australia is planning to evacuate its citizens from the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak in China and quarantine them on an island used to detain asylum seekers. 

No confirmed details have been given, with officials still thrashing out details with Chinese officials. But it is thought Australia will work with New Zealand on the operation and would seek to help Pacific nations evacuate their citizens where possible.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said they would be held in quarantine for 14 days on Christmas Island, known for its notorious immigration detention centre used to detain asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia by boat. 

Morrison said ‘vulnerable’ Australians – including children and the elderly – and short-term visitors to Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province would be prioritised in extraction efforts. 

WHO ELSE IS PLANNING ON EVACUATING RESIDENTS FROM WUHAN?  

India Local media reported the Indian government will request clearance from Beijing to take more than 250 citizens out of Wuhan and that a Boeing 747 in Mumbai is on standby.

Indonesia Jakarta said there are more than 230 Indonesians in China – roughly 100 in Wuhan and the rest in Hubei province. The foreign ministry said yesterday it has yet to decide on an evacuation plan.

Malaysia Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said this morning that Kuala Lumpur was keen to send a plane to Wuhan to evacuate some 78 Malaysians stranded in the city.

Philippines The foreign ministry said today it would evacuate citizens in Hubei on a chartered flight, and asked nationals in the area to contact the Shanghai consulate. 

Sri Lanka Colombo said yesterday there were roughly 860 Sri Lankan students in China. The foreign ministry said it is awaiting a response from the Chinese authorities to operate a Sri Lankan airlines charter flight to Wuhan to evacuate some 32 Sri Lankan students and their relatives.

South Korea Seoul will send chartered planes to Wuhan this week, the foreign ministry said, to return hundreds of its citizens to South Korea on Thursday and Friday.

Thailand Thailand’s premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha said yesterday the country was waiting for authorisation from Chinese officials before evacuating people, but that aircraft and doctors were on standby. 

Germany Berlin has not confirmed any evacuation plan but said it is considering options for roughly 90 citizens reportedly in Wuhan.

Spain Spanish officials are working with China and the European Union to take Spanish nationals out of the area, the foreign minister said. 

Algeria President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has asked the government to take all measures needed to bring home 36 Algerians, most of them students, living in Wuhan, according to state agency APS.

Morocco About 100 people, mostly students in Wuhan, will be evacuated, according to local media.

Mr Siddle, from Prudhoe in Northumberland, added: ‘The way things are going that could be a prolonged period before my Sindy could leave China. My daughter’s obviously been in flood of tears. She’s absolutely devastated.’

The IT software developer added that Sindy was trying to ‘keep strong’ but has been left ‘absolutely distraught’ at Chinese authorities tearing their family apart. He added: ‘It was an awful decision.’

Mr Siddle told the Guardian there were no health warnings in place when they flew out on January 15. He told the newspaper: ‘My head is spinning. It’s just horrendous.

‘This ordeal just turned into our worst nightmare. How can they put a family in this position? Having to leave Sindy in China would be the worst thing that anyone could be put through. How am I going to tell Jasmine that her mum has to stay behind?’ 

Mr Siddle said they have to make their own way to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, where the US and Japan have flown residents out of the city from. But he added that he is a three-hour drive away from the airport, warning that all the roads are on lockdown.

‘We’ve called the local Chinese office to get some details but they’re saying the only way we can get a car through is if we have a special diplomatic note, so I’ve phoned the Foreign Office and asked for that but they said they can’t do it. So that’s put another stress on top of everything.’  

It comes after stranded expats being evacuated from Wuhan tomorrow were told they will be held in quarantine for two weeks when they return to the UK.

Hundreds of expats who have secured a spot on Thursday’s rescue flight were initially told they would have to make their own way home after arriving in London. 

But in an apparent U-turn, Health Secretary Matt Hancock quashed those reports and announced on Twitter the British nationals will be held for a fortnight. 

British PE teacher Kharn Lambert – who is stuck in Wuhan with his visiting 81-year-old grandmother Veronica Theobald – revealed the British embassy in Beijing has been in contact with them for the first time today.

Mr Lambert, 31, said he had had been given assurances the evacuation will take place tomorrow, but there was no set time yet and the Foreign Office told him they’d need to make their own way home.

He told Sky News: ‘Well this morning I was on the phone to the embassy and they’ve basically told us via a script they were given by the Foreign Office that the flight will be leaving tomorrow, they’re not sure what time.

‘It will be arriving at a London airport and once we arrive there that basically the Government will not provide any transport whatsoever and we have to find our own way back to our hometowns and then self-isolate for 14 days, which is absolutely ludicrous.’ 

‘It’s [coronavirus] got a 14-day incubation period. Now, we’ve been inside for almost 14 days, we’re going outside tomorrow and potentially coming into contact with someone that might have the virus, which would then mean we could potentially catch it and then without showing any symptoms could then spread disease around the UK as we travel from the airport to wherever we live in the UK.

‘At the moment, the information we’ve been given is we have to make our own way to the airport. But we have been given no information as to who we are flying with or what the aircraft tag will be. So we’re just waiting on that info.’

He was told the rescue flight will land at a London airport but no transport will be provided and passengers will have to make their own way home – which sparked fears the British government was not taking the risk of the disease spreading in the UK seriously.

Mr Lambert, from Lancaster, said expats were furiously messaging over social media about the government’s mishandling of the crisis, adding: ‘The Australian Government are isolating and quarantining on Christmas Island. They seem to be being proactive, whereas our Government seem to be just dithering and letting us do what we want really.’ 

Hundreds of British expats stuck in the deserted city of Wuhan – the outbreak’s epicentre – are expected to begin flying home tomorrow in a landmark evacuation mission organised by the British Government, which had been accused of dragging its feet in the delay of rescuing residents from a ‘death sentence’. 

But ministers have not officially confirmed the repatriation and British nationals stranded in the region claim they have not been given a set time or concrete plan.

The British government has come under increasing pressure to ramp up its rescue efforts after the US launched an emergency mission to repatriate 240 citizens yesterday and 206 Japanese citizens stuck in Wuhan landed back in Tokyo this morning.  

The French government has confirmed a plane will be sent to Wuhan on Thursday and Australia said a plane will be sent for its citizens by the end of the week.   

Diplomats from the US Consulate as well as other American citizens boarded the flight out of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport yesterday afternoon.

One British dual national also boarded the flight. It is unclear whether any medics were on board to monitor passengers for signs of infection.

It made a refueling stop in Alaska and was due to fly on to Ontario, California – but it has since been diverted to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, where it is expected to land in the next few hours.

Passengers were screened before initially boarding in Wuhan, and then went through follow-up checks at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. The will be screened again once they arrive in California. It is thought they will be quarantined for at least 72 hours.

The Chinese partners of US citizens were banned from the rescue flight, reportedly at the demand of Beijing.

Japanese officials also chartered a flight from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to rescue 206 citizens stuck in the coronavirus-hit city.

Mr Lambert – who is stuck in Wuhan with his visiting 81-year-old grandmother Veronica Theobald and last week begged the Foreign Office to ‘come and get them’ – revealed he has been in contact with the British embassy in Beijing for the first time

Mr Lambert, 31, told Sky News this morning the Foreign Office had given him assurances the evacuation will take place tomorrow, but there was no set time yet

UK doctors were told just last week to lock suspected virus patients in a room 

Doctors in the UK were told to lock patients in a room and leave straight away if they suspect they have the deadly Chinese coronavirus.

The extraordinary guidance was issued by Public Health England amid fears the contagious illness has already made its way into Britain. 

The PHE guidance, which was issued to GP practice doctors this week, reads: ‘If [the Wuhan coronavirus] is considered possible when a consultation is already in progress, withdraw from the room, close the door and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

‘Avoid physical examination of a suspected case. The patient should remain in the room with the door closed. Belongings and waste should remain in the room.

‘Advise others not to enter the room. If a clinical history still needs to be obtained or completed, do this by telephone.

‘The patient should not be allowed to use communal toilet facilities.

‘Instruct them to not touch anything or anyone when walking to the toilet. Instruct the patient to wash their hands thoroughly after toileting.’ 

The plane landed back at Haneda Airport in Tokyo this morning at around 9am local time after flying to Wuhan overnight.  

The flight was carrying emergency relief supplies including 15,000 masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves and 8,000 protective glasses for medics in Wuhan. Around four medical officials were also on board to monitor returning passengers.

Officials confirmed passengers would be tested for the coronavirus strain. Japan Times the evacuees would be asked to remain at home and isolate themselves to prevent the potential spread. 

France’s health minister Agnes Buzyn confirmed a plane will be sent for its stranded citizens on Thursday, to return home on Friday or Saturday. No further details have been given.

There are some 800 French citizens stranded in the Wuhan area. She said French nationals will be held in quarantine for two weeks on arrival to stop the virus spreading on home soil.

The European Union meanwhile said it would co-fund an airlift effort at France’s request, so that more than 100 nationals from other EU nations could be repatriated along with French citizens. 

Meanwhile, a British coronavirus patient who had returned from Wuhan was loaded into an ambulance by a hazmat-clad paramedic yesterday – hours after being sent home by his GP. 

Drew Bennett, 39, was feared to have contracted the potentially deadly virus during a recent holiday to the Chinese city at the heart of the outbreak and is currently in isolation at a Birmingham hospital.  

The sales worker returned from Wuhan on New Years’ Eve and quickly developed flu-like symptoms before becoming too unwell to leave his bed.

But he revealed that when he visited his GP on Monday he was told to go home – despite fears the highly contagious virus is poised to claim its first British victim.

The advice given by his doctor contradicted health bosses’ warning that suspected coronavirus patients must be ‘locked in a room alone straight away’.

Guidance issued to GPs by Public Health England last week ordered them to put patients in a separate room, close the door and ‘don’t let them touch anything or anyone’. 

At 4.20pm on Monday an ambulance carrying medics in hazmat suits was sent to Mr Bennett’s address in Harborne, Birmingham. He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to have blood tests, where he remains in isolation awaiting results.

Video captured by a neighbour showed one medic wearing a white hazmat suit, blue apron, gloves and a mask with a visor, escorting him into the ambulance.

But two West Midlands Ambulance Service crew could be seen without any protective clothing or masks – sparking fears British authorities are failing to take the threat of spreading the killer disease seriously.    

The latest video comes despite Health Secretary Matt Hancock just yesterday warning around 2,000 Britons who are thought to have returned from Wuhan since the start of the outbreak to ‘self-isolate, stay indoors and avoid contact with other people’ in a significant ramping up of precautions. 

Meanwhile in China, health workers have been hosing down streets, shops and public transport with disinfectant spray to try curb the spiralling epidemic.

Coronavirus has been deemed highly contagious and can spread via a simple cough or sneeze. It has killed more than 130 people in under a month.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has refused to answer any questions about why some staff were not wearing protective clothing while collecting Mr Bennett. A spokesman for the trust repeatedly told this website: ‘We can’t say a thing about the case.’ 

A paramedic head-to-toe in protective gear directs Drew Bennett, 39, into an ambulance on a residential street in Harborne, Birmingham

Two other paramedics wearing no protective clothing appear in the video – one appears from behind the ambulance doors (left) and another stands beside the hazmat-clad woman (right)

Mr Bennett travelled home from Wuhan – the outbreak’s epicentre – to Harborne, Birmingham, on New Year’s Eve and quickly became too unwell to leave his bed

He is now in isolation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he is awaiting blood test results to see if he has the virus

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Bennett told Birmingham Live: ‘Once I got back I was really ill with, what I thought, was a bad case of the flu. At that stage coronavirus hadn’t really been mentioned so I thought nothing of it.

‘However, when I went to the GP on Monday and he asked as a precaution if I had been to China, he seemed really concerned.

‘I was sent home and before I knew it, ambulances and people in hazmat suits had turned up. ‘I’m now in isolation at the QE [Queen Elizabeth] and just waiting to get my blood test results.’

Mr Bennett said he ‘did not feel particularly unwell’ now but admitted he has ‘not been 100 per cent’ since returning from China. 

The salesman was sent home from his doctor practice on Monday despite admitting he was struck down with illness after visiting disease-ridden Wuhan last month. 

But just last week Public Health England told doctors to lock patients in a room and leave straight away if they suspect they have coronavirus.

It reiterated that there were no confirmed cases of the virus in the UK. Nearly 100 people have now been tested for the virus, but all of them have come back as negative. 

The extraordinary guidance read: ‘If [the Wuhan coronavirus] is considered possible when a consultation is already in progress, withdraw from the room, close the door and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

‘Avoid physical examination of a suspected case. The patient should remain in the room with the door closed. Belongings and waste should remain in the room.

‘Advise others not to enter the room. If a clinical history still needs to be obtained or completed, do this by telephone.

‘The patient should not be allowed to use communal toilet facilities. Instruct them to not touch anything or anyone when walking to the toilet. Instruct the patient to wash their hands thoroughly after toileting.’  

Separate footage taken in the early hours of Monday showed an ambulance worker in a white protective suit outside an address in Spitalfields, east London

Details about the video are scarce and the London Ambulance Service Trust refused to comment

Christian Diaz, 32, who lives across the hallway from Mr Bennett’s flat, said he is now fearful for his own health after spending so long in close proximity to him. 

He added: ‘I was absolutely terrified when I looked out of my window and saw people walking around in Hazmat suits. It looked like something out of a movie. 

‘An ambulance pulled up and then he was taken out wearing a mask. It seemed very serious. We are all very worried. Nobody has let us know what is going on. 

‘We don’t know whether the building will be put into quarantine if it turns out that he does have the infection. Obviously, we hope that he is OK, but it’s concerning for everyone.’

Separate footage taken in the early hours of Monday showed an ambulance worker in a white protective suit outside an address in Spitalfields, east London.

Details about the video are scarce and the London Ambulance Service Trust refused to comment, saying the Department of Health (DoH) is dealing with the incident. The DoH said it would not speak on individual cases. 

As the death toll continued to soar, British Airways suspended all flights to mainland China with ‘immediate effect’ amid the escalating coronavirus crisis which has killed 130 people.

The airline halted all bookings on its website for direct flights from London to Beijing and Shanghai until March, following the Foreign Office’s unprecedented advice last night urging Britons not to travel to mainland China unless their visit is essential. 

British Airways has today revealed it has suspended all flights to mainland China with ‘immediate effect’ due to the coronavirus crisis as the death toll hit 130

The BA website shows there are no direct flights to China from the UK for the next month – instead they suggest flying to Hong Kong with BA and then connecting with a partner airline such as Cathay Pacific or Dragonair to head to the mainland

Medics in protective gear treat a patient with coronavirus at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, in Wuhan – the outbreak’s epicentre – on Tuesday

Flights to Hong Kong will continue – but passengers will have to use a different airline to head on to the Chinese mainland. It is not yet clear how BA will bring back its thousands of customers booked on flights to the UK from China over the coming weeks.   

A BA spokesman said: ‘We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority. Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com.’

United Airlines, the biggest US carrier to China, has also announced it will be cutting 24 flights in near-term to China and the White House is said to be considering stopping all US-China flights completely to stop the virus spreading. 

Culture Secretary Baroness Morgan said BA’s decision to suspend all flights to China would give ‘more impetus’ to the Government’s bid to arrange for Britons to travel home – amid growing pressure on British ministers to step up the landmark evacuation mission.

‘The Foreign Office will be working with staff on the ground to identify UK nationals,’ the Conservative peer told BBC Breakfast.

‘We will get people home as soon as we can, as soon as we can make arrangements. ‘Obviously, today’s decision by British Airways provides more impetus to the Government to make other plans and communicate those.

‘The health system is well prepared. We are not aware of any confirmed cases of the virus here in the UK but we do have the expertise to look after people, to treat and to test should that become necessary.’

Rory Boland, travel editor for consumer watchdog Which?, said a lack of clear guidance from BA would spark panic for passengers stranded in China.

He said: ‘British Airways’ decision to cancel flights to and from China is understandable following the Foreign Office travel warning. 

‘But a lack of clear information about what this means for BA passengers currently in China and due to fly home with the airline in the coming days is going to cause distress.’

Meanwhile, China’s first dedicated coronavirus hospital has opened in a city near Wuhan after workers and volunteers spent just two days converting an empty building to a 1,000-bed emergency facility.

The Dabie Mountain Regional Medical Centre is the first dedicated coronavirus hospital to have opened in China. Workers and volunteers spent two days revamping an empty building

By Monday, all of the beds had been set up by volunteers, and water, electricity and internet had also been connected, according to the government of Huanggang

A handout image from the Huanggang government shows workers from the city’s electricity company working to connect the building to the grid so it can treat coronavirus patients

The first batch of coronavirus patients were transferred to the Dabie Mountain Regional Medical Centre in Huanggang at around 10:30pm local time on Tuesday.     

The extra capacity will be crucial for overwhelmed medical staff in Hubei, the locked-down province at the centre of the crisis.

Another hospital is being purpose-built from scratch in Wuhan 47 miles (75km) away and is expected to be completed later this week after just a week of construction.  

The hospital building in the city’s Huangzhou District was originally built as a new branch of Huanggang Central Hospital and expected to open in May. 

But on Friday, the local authority ordered the complete but empty building to be used for treating coronavirus patients only and began preparations on Saturday.

By Monday, all of the beds had been set up by volunteers and water, electricity and internet had also been installed, according to the government of Huanggang. 

More than 500 workers and a dozen heavy vehicles worked two days and nights in order to complete the task on time. 

Situated 47 miles (75 km) south-west of Wuhan, Huanggang has a population of around 7.5million and is one of the cities hit hardest by coronavirus.

It went into lockdown last Thursday, the same day as Wuhan, and has seen at least 213 confirmed cases and four deaths.

Much of the Hubei province, which contains both of the cities, now has no public transport and limited road traffic.

Anyone from the province who does manage to leave is likely to be turned away or quarantined at their destination – many, such as Hong Kong, are banning visitors from Wuhan, while the UK has told anyone travelling out of the area to isolate themselves at home.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the latest country to declare cases – an unknown number among a family travelling from China – and Germany has now diagnosed four people with the infection.

Germany also yesterday revealed it had hosted the first human-to-human transmission in Europe, between a German man and a woman travelling from China. 

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