Health

Were YOU on easyJet flight with UK coronavirus patient? Race to trace hundreds of passengers begins


THE race is on to trace passengers who were on board a flight with a British businessman who was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Public Health England are frantically trying to make contact with anyone who may have been seated in the vicinity of the patient.

 Easyjet has confirmed that one of its passengers has been diagnosed with coronavirus since travelling

6

Easyjet has confirmed that one of its passengers has been diagnosed with coronavirus since travellingCredit: AFP – Getty

6

The middle-aged “super-spreader” contracted the deadly virus while at a conference in Singapore and is then believed to have passed it on while staying at a chalet in France.

He flew back to Britain on an easyJet flight from Geneva that landed at London Gatwick on January 28 before any symptoms had shown.

It open the possibility he could have spread the virus to the 183 passengers and six crew.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “EasyJet has been notified by the public health authority that a customer who had recently travelled on one of its flights has since been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

“Public Health England is contacting all passengers who were seated in the vicinity of the customer on flight EZS8481 from Geneva to London Gatwick on 28 January to provide guidance in line with procedures.

“As the customer was not experiencing any symptoms, the risk to others on board the flight is very low.

“We remain in contact with the public health authorities and are following their guidance.

“The health and well-being of our passengers and crew is the airline’s highest priority.

“All of the crew who operated have been advised to monitor themselves for a 14-day period since the flight in line with Public Health England advice. Note this happened 12 days ago and none are displaying any symptoms.”

Cases double

It comes as the number of people infected with the virus in the UK doubled to eight.

The new cases are all known contacts of a businessman who was diagnosed in Brighton last week.

Five other Britons staying at the were subsequently taken ill with the deadly virus, which has claimed more than 900 lives and infected 40,000 people globally.

One of the victims is Bob Saynor, who owns the ski chalet in Contamines-Montjoie, and his nine-year-old son.

The Department of Health said the four people newly-diagnosed contracted the virus in France and have been taken to isolation units in London.

One of the new confirmed cases is reportedly a doctor from Brighton who was part of the group at the ski resort, according to the Guardian.

6

 Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre is one of the designated 'isolation' facilities for coronavirus patients

6

Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre is one of the designated ‘isolation’ facilities for coronavirus patients
 An ambulance arrives at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, in Milton Keynes, ahead of the repatriation to the UK of the latest coronavirus evacuees

6

An ambulance arrives at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, in Milton Keynes, ahead of the repatriation to the UK of the latest coronavirus evacuees

‘Serious threat’

It comes as the Government declared coronavirus a “serious and imminent threat to public health” as it introduced new powers to deal with the spread of the virus.

Under new powers announced today, the health ministry said people with the illness can now be forcibly quarantined and will not be free to leave, and can be forcibly sent into isolation if they pose a threat to public health.

The measures are understood to have been introduced in response to one of the Britons who returned from Wuhan attempting to leave isolation.

 

A Government source said “there was someone who was threatening to abscond from Arrowe Park” despite all the Britons who returned on the evacuation flight signing a contract agreeing to a 14-day quarantine period – which ends this Thursday.

The Dept of Health later tweeted to say that the risk to the public had not changed and remains at “moderate”.

6

Around 150 Brits were flown back from Wuhan yesterday and will now be quarantined at a facility in Milton Keynes.

Arrowe Park Hospital and Kents Hill Park have been designated as “isolation” facilities, with and Wuhan and Hubei province in China labelled “infected areas”.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the flight had brought back 105 British nationals and family members, as well as 95 European nationals and family members.

Elsewhere, 60 more people on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in the port of Yokohama have tested positive for coronavirus, Japan’s health minister has said.

There are now 130 confirmed cases on the ship, with officials previously saying 70 people had the virus among the 3,711 passengers and crew.

What is coronavirus?

Coronavirus is an airborne virus, spread in a similar way to colds and the flu.

The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions.

Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.

It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.

Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and 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 people with weakened immune systems.

There is no vaccine for coronavirus.

In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, SARS, infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control, killing 800 of those worldwide.

More than 3,600 people, including 78 British passport holders, are still in a 14-day quarantine on board the ship.

British honeymooner Alan Steele, who was transferred from the cruise liner to hospital in Japan with coronavirus, was said to be feeling well and in good spirits over the weekend.

In the UK, a University of York student and their relative are still being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary infectious diseases centre in Newcastle.

There have been more than 40,000 cases of the virus globally, mostly in China, while the death toll in China now stands at 908.

However, the number of newly-infected people per day has stabilised, reports suggest.

Meanwhile, a British man in Majorca has also tested positive for coronavirus, while his wife and two daughters tested negative.

According to the government in the Balearic Islands, the family said they had been in contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus in France.

Another UK coronavirus patient tests positive in England bringing total to four





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.