UK calls virus ‘serious’ health threat and may detain people

Britain has declared the novel coronavirus that emerged from China a “serious and imminent threat to public health’’ and announced new measures to combat the spread of the disease.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care said people with the virus can now be forcibly quarantined and will not be free to leave. It named two British hospitals as isolation facilities for those affected by the disease.

“The incidence or transmission of novel coronavirus constitutes a serious and imminent threat to public health, and the measures outlined in these regulations are considered as an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission of the virus,” the agency said.

It added that the changes were designed to ensure the health and safety of medical workers who had contact with infected patients.

The change comes after a British man who caught the virus at a business conference in Singapore in January appears to be linked to at least seven other confirmed cases in Europe.

Five British citizens, including a nine-year-old boy, contracted the virus in the French Alpine ski town of Contamines-Montjoie after staying in the same chalet as the British man.

French medical authorities tested scores of children and their families on Sunday from the area for the virus and temporarily closed three schools where the boy had spent time.

Britain has only four of Europe’s 39 confirmed virus cases but it is a key travel hub between Asia and Europe.

British authorities sought to reassure the public yesterday.