GET US OUT NOW, DEMAND BRITONS
Cry for help from virus-hit Chinese city as UK accused of dithering
TRAPPED Britons yesterday pleaded with the Government to evacuate them from the Chinese city at the heart of the coronavirus crisis.
Their desperate call came as ministers put a planned airlift on hold amid warnings the spread of the deadly illness was accelerating.
Wuhan is in lockdown and faces restrictions on flights and road traffic in an attempt to contain the outbreak, which has so far killed 56 people.
But about 300 Britons who live in the city are growing increasingly anxious after the number of virus cases soared by 50 per cent in just 24 hours – and a British health expert estimated there were now 100,000 people affected globally.
They last night accused the UK of dithering as it emerged the US, Japan and France had already organised evacuations for its citizens.
They also blasted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for issuing ‘ridiculous’ advice.
PE teacher Kharn Lambert has appealed to his MP amid fears his grandmother, who is visiting him, is running out of medication.
He said: ‘We have had zero contact from any officials in the UK, absolutely zero. And the advice they have posted on the travel advisory page is laughable.’
On its website, the FCO advised any Britons to leave if possible, seemingly contradicting travel restrictions in China.
Mr Lambert, 31, from Lancaster, said he had written to local MP Cat Smith of his fears for 81-year-old grandmother Veronica Theobald, who was due to fly home today. She suffers from a serious lung condition COPD and is running out of medication.
His letter states: ‘We have had no contact from the FCO throughout this event and feel increasingly isolated with no real certainty over what the British government are planning to do to assist.’
Ministers are working on the evacuation plan after England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty advised that stranded Brits should be brought home immediately.
But the Foreign Office is still believed to be wrangling with China for permission to do so.
Meanwhile, the US confirmed it was extracting its diplomats and passport-holders tomorrow. Japan plans to evacuate its citizens using chartered flights, while Thailand has aircraft on standby. France said it was setting up a bus service out of Wuhan for its citizens.
Professor Neil Ferguson, a public health expert at Imperial College London, fears the number of coronavirus cases has already hit 100,000 around the world. He told the Guardian: ‘Unless the Chinese manage to control this, and I’m sceptical about whether that is possible, we will get case here.’
British lecturer Dr Yvonne Griffiths, 71, said that the Government had left nationals ‘stranded’.
The Birmingham City University teacher, from Cardiff, had travelled to Wuhan for a professional trip and was due to fly home today but transport is locked down. Dr Griffiths told the BBC: ‘It’s the uncertainty really that is the worst for us as we’re not sure when we’ll get out.’ Daughter Bethan Webber said: ‘The Foreign Office advice is just ridiculous.’
Fears about the extent of the health crisis were heightened yesterday when China’s leader Xi Jinping warned of an ‘accelerating spread’ of coronavirus.
Health commission minister Ma Xiaowei said that infections were at a ‘crucial stage of containment’ – but added authorities were still unsure about the exact origins of the virus. More than 50million people are in lockdown in 18 cities.
Videos released yesterday showed officials sealing off roads leading to the Hubei region, where the virus is mainly concentrated, and in some cases destroying them.
The sale of wild animals was also banned yesterday in a bid to tackle the spread, after a market selling snakes and bats in Wuhan appeared to be the origin of the outbreak.
The US yesterday confirmed a third case of coronavirus. Three have also been found in France, while there have been detections in Canada, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Nepal.
An FCO spokesman said: ‘The safety and security of British nationals is always our primary concern. We advise British nationals travelling to China to check our travel advice on gov.uk.’