Coronavirus: Chinese doctor who warned about outbreak dies from infection – latest news

It’s Simon Murphy here taking over the live-blog after hot-footing it back from the Department of Health and Social Care’s press conference earlier at which the country’s chief medical officer revealed that the third person to be diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK caught the disease outside of China.

Chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, also said the government is now advising people who have travelled to a number of Asian countries and have returned to the UK and developed symptoms to immediately self-isolate and call NHS 111 for advice. Anyone displaying symptoms will be tested for the disease. The advice previously only related to those returning from Wuhan.

Professor Whitty said: “We knew this ratchet up might well happen and this is the moment where we feel it’s prudent, getting ahead of the epidemiology, to make this shift.”

He added: “What we have got is a situation where very high risk remains in Wuhan and Hubei, a high risk in the rest of China, but much lower than in Wuhan and Hubei and then a much smaller risk in a number of countries, and unsurprisingly countries where the greatest risk is in terms of new cases are the ones which have the greatest international traffic with China, and that is exactly as you would expect.”

The World Health Organization is bringing together global scientists to tackle the coronavirus.

On 11 and 12 February the WHO is convening a global research and innovation forum to identify research priorities and coordinate an international effort into developing vaccines and medicines for the disease.

WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the event at a press conference on Thursday: “We’re shadow boxing, we need to bring this virus out into the light so we can attack it properly.”

He also announced that Japan has donated $10m USD to go towards tackling the outbreak.

The Chinese doctor who tried to warn other medics about the coronavirus has been reported dead after contracting the infection in Wuhan.

According to local media, Dr Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist, died from the virus on Thursday.

Li was summoned by police when he tried to warn others about the virus in December.

He sent a message to fellow medics in a group chat on 30 December, and days later was summoned to the Public Security Bureau to sign a letter in which he was accused of making “false comments”.

Li was one of eight people being investigated by police for “rumour-mongering”.

A virus expert has said it is “not surprising” that a third case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the UK, as the infection has spread across China and could infect more people returning from the country.

Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said:

It isn’t surprising that a third case has been identified. Whilst most infections are focused in Wuhan and the Hubei province, the virus has spread to all regions of China and therefore the likelihood of someone returning or visiting the UK with an infection has been real.

He said the overall number of infections in the UK was still low and crucially therehad not been any significant human-to-human transmission. He added:

We are at a key juncture in this outbreak and it is difficult to tell if the control efforts in China will be enough to bring this outbreak to an end. If not, we can expect to see the virus cropping up in many parts of the world, including here.

Meanwhile, Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading, said:

The important thing is that it did not arise within the country. It didn’t come from the two cases that are already here but came from outside. It has been identified quickly, it has been isolated, and in all probability, it will not lead to any further cases generally.

Two more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Singapore, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 30.

One of the new patients is a close contact of one of those previously confirmed to have the virus, while the other has no recent travel history to mainland China and does not appear to be linked with previous cases, the Straits Times reports.

The previously confirmed cases were all either Chinese nationals from Hubei, or individuals with links to travellers who are Chinese nationals.

All UK hospitals have been told to prepare secure coronavirus zones to “avoid a surge” in emergency departments, a leaked NHS letter has shown.

The letter, dated 31 January, tells hospitals to set up “coronavirus priority assessment pods”, which can be decontaminated after each use.

All chief executives and medical directors are instructed to have the pods up and running by Friday 7 February.

Prof Keith Willett, who is leading the NHS’s response to coronavirus, told NHS bosses in the letter: “Plans have been developed to avoid a surge in emergency departments due to coronavirus.

Although the risk level in this country remains moderate, and so far there have been only two confirmed cases, the NHS is putting in place appropriate measures to ensure business as usual services remain unaffected by any further cases or tests of coronavirus.

Trusts are being asked to organise a coronavirus priority assessment pod, which will mean people with symptoms indicative of infection will get quick assessment, while other patients also continue to get appropriate care.”

Since the letter was written a third coronavirus case has been confirmed in the UK.

A third person in the UK has tested positive for the coronavirus, it has been confirmed.

The patient was diagnosed in Brighton, the Guardian understands, and is being transferred to an infectious diseases unit in a London hospital.

Prof Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said:

A further patient has tested positive for coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the UK to three. The individual did not acquire this in the UK.

The patient is being transferred to a specialist NHS centre, and we are using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus. The NHS is well prepared to manage these cases and we are now working quickly to identify any contacts the patient has had.

There have been two other confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK – an unnamed Chinese student from York University and his mother, who are being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

The University of York has said the student confirmed to have contracted the virus did not come into contact with other students.

China is not prepared for the scale of the coronavirus outbreak it is facing, but has mobilised the entire country to tackle the epidemic, Beijing’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, has said.

Answering questions from the media this morning, Liu said:

I can’t say China is prepared for this outbreak, we don’t have enough beds or hospitals. That’s why we have built two emergency hospitals in just ten days.

He added that the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, had held a meeting yesterday in which he had instructed medical personnel to work “around the clock” to treat patients.

Liu said he could understand the complaints of some residents in locked-down Wuhan, but said it would take some time for them to understand the urgency of the situation. He offered reassurances that all residents’ basic necessities were being provided for.

He stressed the rest of China was not in the same locked-down state as the Hubei province, but said some local authorities might have overreacted in their responses to the outbreak.

Finally, he said that communication between Xi and Boris Johnson was good, contrary to reports this morning which suggested there were concerns the prime minister had not sent a personal message of support over the coronavirus outbreak.

The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, warned against “rumours and panic” and called on the UK government to support to support China in its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

It is of hope that governments of all countries, including the UK, should understand and support China’s efforts, avoid overreaction, avoid creating panic, and ensure normal cooperation and exchanges between countries.

Some [media] reports are biased and even maintain malicious slander and disinformation. Rumours and panic are more frightening than the virus itself.

He defended China’s handling of the outbreak, saying the country had been “open, transparent and responsible with its cooperation with the world”.

He emphasised that any impact on China’s economy would be temporary and said the country disapproved of some travel and trade restrictions that had been imposed by other nations.

Finally he condemned “insulting and discriminatory behaviour targeting the overseas Chinese community” fed by panic over the virus.