FCO updates travel advisory to China
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised all Britons to leave china “if they can” in order to avoid exposure to the coronavirus outbreak.
In an update to its travel advisory, the FCO now advises “against all but essential travel to mainland China”.
The news was announced by foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who said that British nationals still stranded in Hubei province (the virus’s epicenter) can expect to be evacuated later this week.
On Monday, the British embassy in Beijing announced the last flights from China to the UK for British nationals would be leaving this week.
There are an estimated 30,000 Britons living and visiting mainland China.
The updated FCO advisory comes on the heels of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic suspending all their UK-China flights.
The British government’s disorganised evacuation of UK citizens from Wuhan (the capital of Hubei province) and China more broadly has been described as “shambles” by shadow foreign minister, Afzal Khan.
Hitherto, two infected people have been identified in the UK and are currently receiving treatment in the specialist infectious diseases unit at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.
But there could be more infected people as British officials continue to track down 239 people who flew from the Chinese city of Wuhan to the UK before travel restrictions were imposed in the coronavirus crisis.
Western countries, notably the US, have been accused of exploiting the coronavirus crisis for political and strategic gain at the expense of China.
The Chinese government has accused the US of causing "panic" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
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