BRITS were left stranded in China last night because of a row over dual nationals – and anyone who appears to be infected with Coronavirus will be LEFT BEHIND, it was revealed today.
A plane set to arrive in the UK this morning was cancelled last night because of a huge clash between China and the UK, leaving around 200 Brits with no idea when they can come home.
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Education minister Nick Gibb confirmed this morning that there were “difficult issues” about how to get Brits back to the UK.
Yesterday it emerged that people with dual nationality may not be allowed on the plane, fording families to be torn apart.
Mr Gibb told Sky News they hoped to resolve them soon and get a chartered flight over to China in the coming hours.
The stranded Brits have been told there are plans in place for a flight tomorrow instead.
It comes as the death toll hit 170 last night and those infected reached 7,000.
The Education Minister said: “There are some difficult issues that are being negotiated at very senior levels between the British Government and diplomatic service and the Chinese government about issues such as dual nationality and so on.
“Our priority is to ensure the safety and welfare of British nationals in Wuhan and get them back to the UK as soon as possible.”
He also confirmed that the RAF would charter the plane, and medics would be on board to help people if they felt ill.
The plane will land at an RAF base too, thought to be Brize Norton.
But Brits who were infected won’t be able to leave, he stressed.
Those who are brought back will be placed in an NHS facility for 14 days to make sure they are infection-free, and don’t pass it on.
The FCO said: “We are doing everything we can do get British people in Wuhan safely back to the UK.
“A number of countries’ flights have been unable to take off as planned.”
What we know about coronavirus so far…
FAMILIES TORN APART
Mum Natalie Francis, 31, who is working as an English teacher in Wuhan, was told she cannot bring her son, Jamie, home with her because he has a Chinese passport, despite being a British citizen.
Meanwhile Jeff Siddle, 54, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, travelled to the Hubei province with wife Sindy, 42, and their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine to spend Chinese New Year with her family in the village of Hongtu.
But the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has told Jeff that since Sindy has a Chinese passport, she will not be allowed to board the plane evacuating British nationals from Wuhan – even though she has held a visa for permanent residency in the UK since 2008.
He told the BBC: “The Chinese authorities are not allowing any Chinese residents to leave. I had to either leave my wife here in China or the three of us stay [here]
“We’re going to have a nine-year-old child separated from her mother..”
What is coronavirus and how does it spread?
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing pneumonia-like lung lesions.
Some of the virus types cause less serious disease, while others – like the one that caused Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) – are far more severe.
In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, Sars, killed more than 900 around the world within weeks.
Symptoms are similar to a common cold.
They include:
- a runny nose
- headache
- cough
- fever
- shortness of breath
- chills
- 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 those with weakened immune systems.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
To help prevent infection, do the same things you do to avoid the common cold such as using alcohol-based anti-bacterial soaps and sprays.
British Airways has suspended all flights to and from mainland China and the Government finalises urgent plans to bring Brits back from the coronavirus-hit province of Hubei.
The airline, which operates daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing from Heathrow, said it was halting the flights with immediate effect after the Foreign Office warned against “all but essential travel” to the country because of the virus outbreak.
Virgin Atlantic said its flights between Heathrow and Shanghai will continue to operate as scheduled but passengers can rebook or get a refund.
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