Health officials yesterday said two people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, in Britain’s first cases since the deadly outbreak emerged in China and spread globally.
The announcement came as 83 British citizens flew back on a chartered flight from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the epidemic which has so far killed 213 people.
With a growing number of cases reported in at least 19 other countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday declared an international public health emergency.
Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, insisted the country was “extremely well-prepared” and that officials were working with the WHO and others “to ensure we are ready for all eventualities”.
“We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus,” he said in a statement.
Whitty added the patients were receiving specialist care, including “tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus”.
“We have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus and we have robust infection control measures in place,” he added, noting officials were working to identify any contacts the two patients had. The pair are believed to have travelled to China recently.
Health officials declined to reveal the location, citing patient confidentiality.
But the domestic Press Association news agency reported they were being treated at a hospital in Newcastle, northeast England.
China’s National Health Commission yesterday revealed that nearly 10,000 people there have been infected by the novel coronavirus.
Wuhan, a city of 11mn people, has been subject to an unprecedented lockdown, preventing residents from leaving in a bid to stop further spread.
Thousands of foreigners were among the millions of people confined in the metropolis, and numerous countries have begun airlifting their nationals out.
A plane chartered by Britain to evacuate its citizens and other nationals departed the city yesterday with 110 people aboard — 83 Britons and 27 others.
“We will work with our international partners on further assistance for those who remain,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
The returning Britons have been isolated for 14 days at a medical facility in northwest England after they arrive at an air force base yesterday afternoon.
The two-week quarantine period is at the Arrowe Park Hospital, in accommodation usually used by health service staff.
Anyone with suspicious symptoms will be taken to the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospital, which has a high-level infectious diseases unit.
British nationals evacuated from Wuhan in China are helped by personnel (high visibility jackets) as they disembark a chartered passenger jet at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton, west of London, yesterday.
