Virus Brits home
Crocodile tears as waters rise 34 are held at disease centre
THE holidaymakers trapped on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan arrived at a UK hospital wearing face masks last night.
The 32 British and two Irish passengers on the Diamond Princess flew to Boscombe Down air base, Wilts, and were then bussed with a police escort to Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral for 14 days of quarantine.
Some gestured to reporters as they arrived on three coaches. And earlier, Alan Steele, 58, of Wolverhampton, who was diagnosed with coronavirus but later got the all-clear, had joked on Facebook: “Butlin’s the Wirral here we come.”
Almost 2,250 people have died from the
FLOOD-HIT residents got a bit of a shock yesterday as a crocodile emerged from the muddy water.
The fearsome-looking garden model washed up outside Boutique By Browns hotel in Worcester.
Manager Richard Hill, 54, joked: “I thought it had escaped from the local safari park.”
But weather forecasters weren’t joking last night when they announced another cold snap is on the way after the third weekend of strong winds and heavy rain.
Temperatures will dip to 4C on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing sleet and snow showers in the north virus, including two elderly Japanese passengers who were on the cruise ship.
Around 76,000 cases have been recorded worldwide with 1,200 sufferers in 26 countries outside China.
The World Health Organisation has appealed for £520million to help control the virus in poorer countries.
Italy yesterday reported its second death – a woman in the northern Lombardy region – a day after a 78-year-old man died. and west of England. Scotland will also see four inches of snow. Met forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: “It’s going to be typical winter weather.”
Following Storms Ciara and Dennis there will be more heavy rain today in Wales and tomorrow in the north.
The Environment Agency has 90 flood warnings in place, as well as 153 flood alerts covering areas from Wiltshire to Cumbria.
Two severe flood warnings – meaning an imminent danger to life – remain in force near Hereford.
Horton-in-ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales was yesterday cut off and houses in nearby Settle flooded. In Skipton, North Yorks, four people were rescued from a submerged car.
Some of the 78 Brits on the Diamond Princess, which had been quarantined in Yokohama for two weeks, had already been evacuated on flights to Hong Kong.
Others including David and Sally Abel, of Daventry, Northants, were being treated in Japan after testing positive.
Their son Steve said his dad was now so weak he was using a wheelchair.
Arrowe Park Hospital held 83 Brits in quarantine earlier this month after they were flown out of Wuhan in China.
Yesterday John Ashton, a former regional director of public health, said: “With numbers of cases escalating it may be time to step up quarantine restrictions on those travelling from affected areas.”