ANOTHER flight carrying 11 people evacuated from coronavirus-hit China has touched down in Britain this evening.
The second group of evacuees – made up of British nationals and their relatives – landed in RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
12
12
12
From there, they will join 83 other people who have been quarantined at a special unit at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral, Merseyside.
Pictures from the tarmac at Brize Norton show passengers wearing face masks disembarking from the jet.
A baby being carried in a cot was among the passengers, the images show.
The group, who secured seats on a French flight leaving Beijing thanks to the British embassy, will spend 14 days in quarantine, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.
He told Sky: “It’s correct that there is a further French flight that is expected back in Europe today and that will carry some UK nationals.”
Mr Raab had said 11 British nationals would be returning but the Foreign Office later confirmed the group includes a mix of British nationals, including three children, and some of their relatives.
It comes as a man in the Philippines became the first person to die from the virus outside China.
The death toll has risen above 300 and the number of confirmed cases of infection increased to 14,380, Chinese authorities said.
The Foreign Secretary said the Government is doing all it can to help Britons in Wuhan – where the virus originated – leave if they want to.
12
Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, he said: “We’ll do everything we can to make sure that those that still want to leave, give them the opportunity to do so,” he said.
He added: “The challenge that we’ve got, and the Chinese have got frankly, is to contain the virus but also then to lift out people that want to come back home and we’re doing that as sensitively and as effectively as we can.”
Some of the 83 Britons holed up quarantine in the Wirral shared video footage of their first hours in a locked NHS staff accommodation block following their arrival back in the UK on Friday’s evacuation flight.
They showed the food and other essential items including televisions and Playstations – which will help sustain them for their 14 days in isolation.
The latest repatriation flight comes as the Government launched a public health campaign advising people how to slow the spread of the virus.
12
A University of York student and their relative remain the only two confirmed cases in the UK.
From Sunday, advertisements advising people to use tissues when sneezing or coughing and wash their hands regularly will appear in newspapers, on the radio and on social media.
The ads will also target publications and forums in the UK known to be read by Chinese nationals here, the Department of Health said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said UK medics are working “round the clock” to prevent the spread of the illness, but added the general public can do its bit.
He said: “Basic hygiene such as washing our hands regularly and using tissues when we cough and sneeze can play an important role in minimising the spread of viruses like this.”
The Foreign Office, which has withdrawn some staff from China and closed the British Consulate-General in Wuhan, said it is continuing to work with EU countries to add remaining Britons to any rescue flights they may charter back from Wuhan.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office (FCO) said: “The Government is in touch with British nationals who remain in Wuhan, and are doing everything we can to bring them home as safely and quickly as possible.”
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
