A BRIT dad trapped in coronavirus-hit Wuhan has revealed he will have to choose if he leaves China with his newborn baby or wife.
Adam Bridgeman, 33, had been hoping to evacuate China with his wife Su, 32, and four-week-old baby Austin as the coronavirus death toll reaches 170.
The UK had initially booked a plane to evacuate hundreds of Brits from Wuhan – but it has since been blocked from leaving.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Adam, from London, said: “I wasn’t sure if we were going to board the plane anyway – they said my wife couldn’t board the plane because she’s a Chinese national.
“They were unable to confirm if my son could have been able to board.
“We were thinking I could go with my son and leave my wife here – but separating a mother from her newborn baby wasn’t really something we were willing to do.”
Last night’s news of the cancelled flight came as a hammer blow to Adam and the more than 200 British citizens trapped in a sealed-off city dubbed zombieland.
Adam said: “It’s a really difficult decision. I don’t want to break our family apart, the baby is too young.
“We will probably stay here if we can’t go at all.”
And adding to the new dad’s fears, the time for baby Austin’s vaccines are coming up – with Adam unwilling to take his newborn to hospitals where coronavirus patients are being treated.
He said: “He might need medical attention but seeing a doctor here is a little bit dangerous at the moment.”
The family is currently staying indoors, with their food and nappies being delivered so they don’t have to leave.
LOCKDOWN
After the plane’s delay, Brits have been told by officials the evacuation could now fly out tomorrow.
Wuhan is currently a ghost town, with many staying indoors as experts warned the deadly bug will become a worldwide pandemic if governments do not impose heavy global travel bans.
People coming back will be told to “self-isolate” and stay indoors for 14 days, but there are no plans to forcibly quarantine them.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are doing everything we can to get British people in Wuhan safely back to the UK.
“A number of countries’ flights have been unable to take off as planned. We continue working urgently to organise a flight to the UK as soon as possible.
“We remain in close contact with the Chinese authorities and conversations are ongoing at all levels.”
Ministers had chartered a civilian flight with capacity for 400 passengers for the evacuation mission.
Medics from the armed forces were set to be on board to monitor the health of those returning.
The setback comes hours after planes carrying American and Japanese evacuees touched down in their home countries.
British Airways halted all its flights to and from China yesterday.
The Government has advised against “all but essential” travel to mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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