Coronavirus: Fears ‘many more’ Brits infected by deadly bug as 6 treated in UK after flying in from China ‘ground zero’
SIX people are being treated for suspected coronavirus in Britain after flying in from China – the epicentre of the deadly outbreak.
Five patients are being treated in Scotland as well as one more in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it has been reported.
The patients in Edinburgh and Glasgow are suffering flu-like symptoms and respiratory difficulties after arriving via London from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the deadly outbreak started.
It is understood that those effected could be Chinese students.
In Northern Ireland, a man is being treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for suspected coronavirus, the BBC reports.
According to the report, it is believed the patient – who is being kept in an isolation ward – travelled from Wuhan last weekend.
None of the UK patients have been confirmed as having the disease but their symptoms and recent movements are red flags for the illness.
Coronavirus has killed 17 people in China, with five cities on lockdown, and infected thousands more with fears it could spread like wildfire on our shores.
The World Health Organisation’s emergency committee said today it is “too early” to declare an international public health emergency over the outbreak.
Professor Jurgen Haas, head of infection medicine at the University of Edinburgh, believes there will be “many more cases” in other UK cities.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
- Experts have warned the virus could be as deadly as the post WWI Spanish flu which killed millions
- The virus has spread to Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US
- Latest analysis by Chinese scientists suggests virus passed from bats to snake then humans
- Wuhan in lockdown for a month as public transport and people told to avoid crowd
- Six UK patients – who all travelled from Wuhan in the last two weeks – are suspected of having the deadly bug
It’s not too surprising. My suspicion is that there will probably be many more cases in many other cities in the UK.
Professor Jurgen Haas
He said: “The situation will be pretty similar in pretty much all UK cities with a large number of Chinese students.
“It’s not too surprising. My suspicion is that there will probably be many more cases in many other cities in the UK.”
Tests have not yet been able to rule out the killer virus, with the patients being treated by special medics in sterile suits.
The patients in Scotland, whose age and gender are not yet known, are being kept in isolation by hospital staff.
They all travelled from Wuhan within the last 14 days.
A source told the Daily Record: “The patient came through London to Glasgow and after the symptoms were flagged up no chances were taken.
“The tests that were carried out could not immediately isolate what the condition might be and it may take a bit longer to be absolutely sure what doctors are dealing with.
“Obviously they are erring on the side of caution in the meantime.”
It comes as passengers travelling from China to the UK were not screened when they arrived into London sparking fears the deadly coronavirus could spread in Britain.
Holidaymakers who touched down at London Heathrow from Wuhan, where the outbreak is thought to have begun, were shocked as they were simply handed a leaflet and told to call NHS 111 if they felt ill.
Do YOU know the patients taken to hospital in Scotland? Email: alex.matthews@the-sun.co.uk or call 020 778 24376
There are 616 confirmed cases across several countries – but today the British government warned the death toll is likely to be higher.
Meanwhile at other major international airports full-body screenings and temperature checks are being carried out.
Pressure is growing on the government to stop the spread of the killer virus – that could be as deadly as Spanish flu.
Furious passengers today slammed the meagre efforts made by the British authorities to keep the public safe.
Disease expert Professor Neil Ferguson fears the coronavirus could already have arrived in the UK on one of the three flights a week from Wuhan.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock today said there was an “increased likeliehood” that there would be cases of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK – but the NHS is ready.
The public can be assured that the whole of the UK is well prepared for these type of outbreaks.
Matt Hancock
Mr Hancock reassured that our doctors were “well equipped” to deal with the disease with Britain leading the way in testing of the virus.
He told MPs: “The public can be assured that the whole of the UK is well prepared for these type of outbreaks.”
There is yet to be any confirmed cases of the virus in Brits but Public Health England officials have been carrying out “enhance monitoring” on flights from Wuhan, Mr Hancock assured.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its travel advice for China, advising against “all but essential travel” to Wuhan.
Aircraft from the Chinese city are landing in an isolated area of Heathrow Terminal 4 to limit the potential spread of the infection.
But furious Brits were left stunned by the lack of advice given to them as they arrived home today.
One arrival said: “All we got was a leaflet, that’s it.
“It seems odd because I knew American cities were screening. I was not screened leaving Wahun, or in the UK. I didn’t see anybody get screened. It would have made sense.”
He added: “I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get out [of Wuhan], but as I have I would expect more to get out frankly.”
WORRIED BRITS
Meanwhile concerned Brits have called on Boris Johnson to enforce tougher screen conditions for travellers coming from China.
Others have asked for flights from the country to be diverted away from UK shores.
One woman wrote on Twitter: “Why have we allowed flights to Heathrow from Wuhan this morning when the Coronavirus has a 5 day incubation period?
“So now Britain is on virus alert smart bloody move that bit like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted at least they have stopped movement out of Wuhan now.”
We have 1000s of Chinese people in the UK who travel in and out of China this needs to be a priority screen at LHR now, don’t just hand out leaflets.
Another woman said: “AN ADVISORY LEAFLET?!
“You could’ve just contaminated the UK! Why weren’t they scanned at Heathrow like they are in China?!”
One tweeter wrote: “Why are we in the UK not on the alert and ready to respond?
“We have 1000s of Chinese people in the UK who travel in and out of China this needs to be a priority screen at LHR now, don’t just hand out leaflets.
“That wont stop the spread of the coronavirus.”
Another fumed: “But of course Heathrow f****d up and only made their leaflets for mainly Chinese people not in Chinese.”
Officials say they have no plans to introduce blanket temperature screening of all passengers – as the measure has failed in the past.
Public Health England has upgraded the coronavirus risk to the UK from “very low” to “low”.
The infection, linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, has spread to Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
Prof Ferguson, from Imperial College London, is now forecasting up to 9,700 could become infected.
He claimed up two people in every 100 infected could die, which is comparable to the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918.
That was the deadliest pandemic in recent history, wiping out 50million people worldwide.
Prof Ferguson said the authorities are “overwhelmed with suspect cases” and are facing “an extremely demanding situation” in which numbers of those infected will continue to rise.
“It’s possible the case fatality rate could be as high as two per cent.
“Two percent case fatality rate is comparable to the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, so it is a significant concern globally.”
Prof Ferguson warned the virus, which has an incubation period of seven days, may already have reached Britain.
COULD ALREADY BE IN UK
“We can’t rule out that possibility. Border screening, and in this case, in the UK, alerting the health system is not 100 per cent fool proof – there could be a mild case,” he said.
“It’s understandable countries want to try and reduce the threat by various measures at the border. But the border will still be porous.”
There are three direct flights from the Chinese city of Wuhan – which has a larger population than London at 11 million – to Heathrow every week.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that from today enhanced monitoring will be in place from all direct flights from Wuhan to the UK.
A team of healthcare experts will now meet each direct flight aircraft to provide advice and support to those that feel unwell.
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an airborne virus, spread in a similar way to colds and the flu.
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
In most cases, you won’t know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease or people with weakened immune systems.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, SARS, infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control, killing 800 of those worldwide.
The once buzzing city of Wuhan show it has been reduced to a ghost town as the authorities there ban all travel on public transport.
Images from the Central Hospital of Wuhan show doctors in the intensive care unit wearing hazmat suits.
At least 20 medics in the country have also been infected with the highly contagious bug while treating patients, officials said.
GHOST TOWN
Residents have been told not to travel, to avoid crowds and minimise public gatherings despite Chinese New Year being only three days away.
Blue and white police tape flutters in the fog-heavy breeze beyond the shuttered gates of Huanan Haixian Shichang, a once-thriving market at the epicentre of the outbreak.
The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of that epidemic but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician.
MOST READ IN NEWS
The virus could be declared a global health crisis after cases of the mystery bug previously quadrupled in just four days.
There are also reported cases in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.
And an expert warned the deadly new virus is one of the “biggest global health threats”.
Scientists are frantically working on a vaccine to stop the spread of Wuhan coronavirus – but say it could be more than a year before it’s available.