THE RISK of the deadly coronavirus hitting the UK is on the RISE after sweeping through Asia, the Government said today.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock issued a stark public warning as anger rose over the lack of checks on passengers arriving from the ‘Ground Zero’ of Wuhan in China, where the outbreak first began.
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He said the risk of the virus, which has killed 17 people and infected 550, is rising in the UK despite emergency precautions to deal with the crisis.
Mr Hancock said: “There is an increased likelihood cases may arise in this country, [but] we are well prepared and well equipped to deal with them.”
But he said there were no confirmed cases of the infection in the UK so far, but officials were “closely monitoring” the situation in China.
He said the government had already put in precautionary measures to deal with the virus if it does reach the UK.
The risk of the virus spreading to the UK has been raised from “very low” to “low”, but there has been an outbreak of fury after passengers arriving from Wuhan were not screened.
Mr Hancock said the NHS was ready to respond to any cases of coronavirus, which has spread to hundreds of patients across six countries in the past few weeks.
What we know so far
- Experts have warned the virus could as deadly as the post WWI Spanish flu which killed millions
- The virus has spread to Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and the US
- UK experts have said they believe the virus could already be in the UK
- Two police stations in Bristol were today put on lockdown after a Chinese detainee complained of flu
- Latest analysis by Chinese scientists suggests virus passed from bats to snakes then humans
- Wuhan in lockdown for a month as public transport and people told to avoid crowds
- World Health chiefs are meeting to decide whether to declare it an emergency
Britain is one of the first countries to develop a world-leading test for the virus, he said, meaning the NHS is well-prepared to deal with it if it reaches our shores.
He added official travel guidance warned Brits to avoid all non-essential travel to Wuhan, and Chinese students at Universities would be specifically targeted to make sure they got the updated warning.
“The public can be assured the whole of the UK is well-prepared for these kinds of outbreaks,” he added.
“We will remain vigilant and keep our response under constant review.”
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Despite fears of the killer virus spreading like wildfire on our shores, passengers landing in the UK are being fobbed off with leaflets telling them to call the NHS if they feel unwell.
Meanwhile at other major international airports full-body screenings and temperature checks are being carried out.
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.
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