The 83 Brits quarantined in an NHS unit in Merseyside over coronavirus fears have started to leave after testing negative for the deadly virus following a 14-day stint in isolation.
Matt Raw was the first evacuee from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the centre of the escalating outbreak, to leave Arrowe Park Hospital today.
The 38-year-old, from Knutsford, Cheshire, punched the air and shouted ‘we’re free and the sun’s shining’. He joked that he would go home to feed his gold fish and would ‘no doubt be going out for a pint a little bit later’.
Buses full of excited Brits pictured smiling and putting their thumbs up have since been seen boarding trains at Liverpool’s Lime Street station and being dropped off in the Wirral.
Health officials confirmed all of the group – who had signed a contract agreeing to be quarantined when they landed at RAF Brize Norton on Friday, January 31 – had tested negative for the killer SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock thanked the quarantined Britons for their ‘bravery’ and ‘patience’, admitting that it will not have been an ‘easy time’. They were all on the first of three British repatriation flights.
Eleven evacuees are still holed up inside the unit after being taken back to the UK on a second flight on Sunday, February 2. They are expected home this weekend.
It comes after the first case of the never-before-seen coronavirus was confirmed in London last night – the woman caught the virus in China. Today it was revealed she turned up at A&E in an Uber before being taken to St Thomas’ Hospital.
In other developments to the escalating outbreak today:
- More than 60,000 people have now caught the virus – a 33 per cent jump in the space of just 24 hours
- Chinese officials have confirmed yesterday was the deadliest day of the outbreak, with 242 deaths recorded, taking the toll past 1,350
- Japan records its first coronavirus death – making it just the third place outside of China to declare a fatality
- Doctors have warned the London Underground could be a hotbed for the spread of coronavirus
- Another 44 people have tested positive for coronavirus on board quarantined cruise ship the Diamond Princess in Japan, with 218 now infected
- Rapper Stormzy has postponed the Asia leg of Heavy Is The Head tour after the coronavirus outbreak
- Makeshift coronavirus isolation ‘pods’ have emerged at hospitals across England as the country is on high alert for new cases of the illness
- Many more people in the UK may need to self-isolate in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus, the chief executive of the NHS has said
- Dentists have warned they may be forced to ‘down drills’ because they are running out of face masks because of panic buying
- Department of Health figures show 800 Brits were tested for coronavirus within 24 hours
Matt Raw, the first evacuee from Wuhan to be pictured leaving Arrowe Park Hospital, punched the air as he was let out of a gate guarded by two security guards
Excited Brits were pictured smiling and putting their thumbs up on a coach leaving Arrowe Park Hospital. It is unclear where they were heading
A coach arrives at Arrowe Park Hospital to take the 83 quarantined Brits home
Matt Raw, who is originally from Knutsford, Cheshire, but moved to Wuhan last year, earlier this week said: ‘I don’t think anybody has a reason to complain here’ (pictured outside Arrowe Park Hospital today)
Matt Raw made the flight at short notice, after initially being told that his Chinese wife, Ying, who has a visitor visa for the UK, would not be allowed to travel. When the Chinese authorities decided to ease the restrictions, Mr Raw was able to make the flight with his wife and 75-year-old mother, Hazel
In a note left to staff, one of the quarantined Brits said: ‘Dear staff, I didn’t want to leave without expressing my deepest gratitude for what you have done for us over these past two weeks’
Health officials confirmed all of the isolated 83 Britons tested negative for the killer SARS-2 virus, following a 13-day stint at Arrowe Park Hospital (pictured today)
Mr Raw revealed that he and other quarantined passengers can ‘go outside for fresh air’ and are treated to ‘anything we ask for’
The Briton shared images of inside the quarantined room, showing toiletries and a brand new television left on a chest of drawers in the building
As he left Arrowe Park Hospital, Mr Raw said: ‘Some good fresh air and very, very, very happy that all 83 of us have tested negative for the virus and I guess now back to business as usual.
‘It has not been that bad because they have looked after us so excellently. The wonderful, wonderful staff of the NHS, they have really done their very best to make us as comfortable as possible.
‘We’re not prisoners. They’re trying to make us feel like, if anything, we’re just on holiday for a couple of weeks, maybe without the swimming pool.’
Mr Raw added: ‘I would say that 99.9 per cent of us, if not 100 per cent of us, are really happy to have been here. We’re very grateful to have been here.
‘The last thing that any one of us would have wanted is to have passed that virus on, if we were infected, to pass it on to somebody else. You have to live with that. If somebody does get sick from it and dies we’d have to live with that knowledge for the rest of our lives and of course that’s not who we are.
‘Most of us travel a lot, we travel extensively, and there are risks associated with that so we do take ourselves seriously as ex-pats and we want to be as responsible as possible and if that means staying in quarantine for a couple of weeks so be it.’
He said reports of someone trying to leave the quarantine facility earlier in the week were a case of ‘mistaken identity’ as security had thought a member of staff was a patient. The attempt prompted the Health Secretary to hurry in a draconian new law giving police officers the power to handcuff suspected coronavirus patients and force them back into quarantine.
Mr Raw said he was ‘ecstatic’ when he tested negative for the virus. He said: ‘We were ecstatic for ourselves but not just ourselves, of course, for everybody here. For 83 of us to all come back and all test negative was just absolutely phenomenally good news.’
Mr Raw said there were people who were ‘very anxious’ about contracting the virus. He added: ‘Personally, I’ve cheated death quite a few times on my travels over the years and I guess this is just another one to tick off the list.’
He said he planned to go home, turn the heating on and feed the goldfish after leaving the hospital, adding: ‘It’ll be lovely to be back and to see friends and family.’
Mr Raw made the flight at short notice, after initially being told that his Chinese wife, Ying, who has a visitor visa for the UK, would not be allowed to travel. When the Chinese authorities decided to ease the restrictions, Mr Raw was able to make the flight with his wife and 75-year-old mother, Hazel, who has dementia.
His mother has gone to a care home. He said: ‘She’s not really totally aware of where she is and what’s happening but she’s certainly enjoying all of the attention to a degree!’
Kharn Lambert, a PE teacher, travelled home with his grandmother Veronica Theobald who was out visiting him in Wuhan when the outbreak took hold
He told Sky News today that his grandmother was ‘absolutely fantastic’, adding that both of them found it emotional seeing Mr Lambert’s mother again following their ordeal
Chris Hill, 38, a foreign language coach originally from Tyne and Wear, posts a picture of him wearing a face mask in Wuhan
Mr Hill, who lives in Wuhan with his wife, Caitlyn Gao, and four-year-old daughter, Renee Gao (pictured together), said one person per family was permitted to leave his housing area every two or three days to buy food
Renee – Mr Hill’s four-year-old daughter – is pictured wearing a face mask in Wuhan
Staff in high-visibility jackets at the facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside
A security guard stands outside Arrowe Park Hospital. Ten evacuees are still holed up inside the unit after being taken back to the UK on a second flight on Sunday, February 2
Mr Raw said he planned to go back to Wuhan, where his wife Ying’s family are, at some point. He said: ‘This could have happened absolutely anywhere in the world, it’s just unlucky and sad it happened to happen in Wuhan. Wuhan is still home from home for me.’
Kharn Lambert, a PE teacher, travelled home with his grandmother Veronica Theobald who was out visiting him in Wuhan when the outbreak took hold.
He told Sky News today that his grandmother was ‘absolutely fantastic’, adding that both of them found it emotional seeing Mr Lambert’s mother again following their ordeal.
Mr Lambert added that he had a ‘tear in my eye’ when he said goodbye to the other Brits in Arrowe Park Hospital, saying he had ‘become friends’ with them.
Discussing the release of the first evacuees, Mr Hancock said: ‘Today marks the end of fourteen days of supported isolation for over eighty people in the Wirral.
‘This will not have been an easy time for them and I would like to express my gratitude for their bravery and patience.
‘Each individual has been given a clean bill of health, and the nation can be reassured that their departure presents no risk to the public.
‘I am incredibly proud of every dedicated healthcare professional who has looked after these individuals over the last fourteen days – their tireless work in exceptional circumstances is a testament to our steadfast NHS.’
NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: ‘As our first group of guests leaves Arrowe Park Hospital, we want to thank them for the highly responsible, pragmatic and stoical way they have played their part in keeping both themselves and others safe.
Earlier this week it was announced that a person staying at the Arrowe Park Hospital tried to leave before completing the 14-day stay after his return from China , breaking the contract they signed before they were rescued
‘They have set an important example, recognising that over the coming weeks many more of us may need to self-isolate at home for a period to reduce this virus’s spread.
‘I particularly also want to thank all the NHS staff who have worked so hard to make their stay as safe and comfortable as possible.
‘With about 72 hours notice they and subsequently their colleagues in Milton Keynes have mobilised clinical teams, personal support and pastoral care to look after over two hundred people returning to this country under extremely trying circumstances.
‘They have been hugely helped by the volunteers, residents, schools and those from local councils.’
He urged Brits to wash their hands to prevent the spread of infection and call NHS 111 before going to their GP surgery or A&E if they fear they may have the virus.
Dr William Welfare, interim deputy director for health protection at Public Health England North West, also thanked the Brits for their patient and support.
He said: ‘All the test results from flight one have come back negative so we can be very clear that all of those leaving today do not pose risk to the wider public.’
Dr Kieran Murphy, deputy medical director for NHS England in the North West, said: ‘We want to wish them well as they move on with the rest of their lives and leave us.’
Kharn Lambert, one of the quarantined patients in Merseyside, said: ‘I’m ecstatic and I’m so happy that everyone has come back with negative test results.’
It comes after one of the 83 Brits reportedly left a heartwarming note on a window praising staff for their ‘smiles, gifts and flowers’.
In a note left to staff, one of the quarantined Brits, who hasn’t been identified, said: ‘Dear staff, I didn’t want to leave without expressing my deepest gratitude for what you have done for us over these past two weeks.
‘I arrived as a potential carrier of a deadly virus. I was a little anxious as to how I would be received. I needn’t have been, you greeted us warmly with gifts, cards, flowers and smiles. You made us feel welcome.
A portable cabin is being used as an isolation pod at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester
At Eastbourne District General Hospital, windowless shipping containers at the side of what appears to be a road in the hospital grounds are used
‘In our time of turmoil you took care of us with compassion and professionalism. The experience has been humbling.
‘Not once did I feel you didn’t have enough time to speak to me or help me. You proactively sought to make my confinement there more comfortable.
‘I am one of the 83 but I’m sure my sentiment is shared by us all. Thank you.’
Earlier this week it was announced a Briton quarantined at Arrowe Park tried to leave before completing the 14-day stay after his return from China.
It prompted Health Secretary Matt Hancock to hurry in a law to give police draconian powers to seize suspected patients and force them into isolation in handcuffs.
Sources claim the quarantined Brits are holding staff to ‘ransom’, demanding alcohol and takeaways during their 13-day stint in isolation.
Security guards at the unit say the 93 evacuees know they can just threaten to leave and ‘get whatever they want’.
One alleged they received their own chefs after complaining about the poor food – but other Brits holed up inside have described it as ‘wonderful’.
A crane delivers a portable cabin to University Hospital of North Tees, where it will be used as a coronavirus isolation pod
Blackpool Victoria Hospital has attached a sign to a permanent building, indicating that suspected coronavirus patients should go there
A source said one got drunk and threatened to leave so officials told him if he left he’d have to pay for his flight and all the food and items he had been given.
Photographers caught crates of beer in the boot of a car being delivered just days after the ‘drunk’ tried to leave.
Discussing the release of the Brits today, Joan Hawkins, 79, who lives close to Arrowe Park, said: ‘They had to go somewhere and you have to feel sorry for them.
‘Obviously you don’t want them here so close to you, but I don’t see that there’s anything else they could do. You have to wonder why they were brought to the Wirral when there’s all these big hospital in London, I just think it’s strange.
‘But it’s good news they are all clear, they have to go home sometime and it can’t be very pleasant being kept away from their families and it’s a relief for the people who live here.’
A resident and local taxi driver who wanted to remain anonymous said: ‘I’ve caught norovirus three times and swine flu once from picking up patients at the hospital but I’m not concerned because they’ve been in quarantine.
‘It’s just like a normal flu epidemic, think how many people die from the flu in the UK, it’s only a threat to you if you’re not fit and healthy.
‘The problem is now that people who have been to Wuhan have travelled back and don’t know if they’re got it or if they’re spreading it, they should have closed off travel from China as soon as it broke out.’
As well as the 10 Brits still holed up in Arrowe Park, one man is being held at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford as a precaution.
Anthony May-Smith was on the second flight from Wuhan, which landed at the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire.
Almost 30 countries around the world have recorded cases of the killer coronavirus, which has been named by scientists as SARS-CoV-2
More than 60,000 people have now caught the virus – a 33 per cent jump in the space of just 24 hours
Chinese officials have confirmed yesterday was the deadliest day of the outbreak, with 242 deaths recorded taking the toll past 1,350
He was whisked off to the hospital after complaining of a cough and sore throat on the flight home. It is unclear when he will be released.
A further 105 Brits are holed-up at Kents Park Hill hotel in Milton Keynes after being evacuated on the last flight home on Sunday, February 9.
The repatriation flight also landed at RAF Brize Norton. Ninety-five foreign nationals who were also on board were flown home from the base.
Government sources say all of the Brits evacuated from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began, have been forced to sign contracts agreeing to spend 14 days in quarantine.
It comes after a ninth UK case was confirmed yesterday evening – the first instance of coronavirus in London.
The patient, who is now being treated at a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in the capital, got the virus in China.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said officials are working to identify recent contacts she had.
The case could trigger panic in the capital, with public health officials frantically hunting down anyone the infected woman may have been in contact with.
This is the coronavirus super-spreader Steve Walsh, who inadvertently infected 11 people with the disease on a ski break in the Alps, left St Thomas’ Hospital in London today
MailOnline has found at least nine sites in Brighton linked to the city’s super spreader or his infected doctor friend including two schools, two health centres and a care home as the area’s residents accused public health chiefs of starving them of information
Dr Catriona Saynor (pictured left) works as a locum at County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton, which was shut down this week Steve Walsh, a gas salesman from Hove, was this week revealed to have unknowingly been the source of six out of the UK’s eight coronavirus infections – he and Dr Saynor had been on a family holiday together in France
Close and sustained contact means those who has been within two metres of the confirmed clinical case for 15 minutes.
Dr Robin Thompson, of the University of Oxford, warned the London Underground could be a hotbed for the spread of coronavirus.
He said: ‘In general, if an initial case is in a densely populated area, then the risk of sustained person-to-person transmission following is higher.
‘This is exacerbated by the fact that London is a transport hub, and the underground could provide a network to spread the virus quickly.
‘As a result, given this case was in London, it might be expected that there is an increased risk posed by this case compared to the others we have seen.’
The evacuated group’s release comes a day after ‘super-spreader’ Steve Walsh, 53, was given the all-clear and discharged from St Thomas’ Hospital.
Mr Walsh accidentally infected 11 people in a French ski chalet after picking up the deadly disease at a Singapore business conference last month.
The father-of-two and scout leader was reunited with his wife and two children in East Sussex, who were also in self-quarantine.
Dr Catriona Greenwood, who went on the holiday with Mr Walsh along with her husband Bob and their three children, is thought to be the fourth patient in the UK.
None of the other seven coronavirus patients in the UK have been named. It is only known that three are Chinese nationals, and one of the Brits was an A&E doctor.
An eight-month-old boy with pre-existing health problems is feared to be the youngest Briton with coronavirus.
The baby has ‘all the symptoms’ associated with the virus and his terrified family say they are living ‘in hell’ because his four-year-old sister may also have been exposed.
The unnamed child, who has pre-existing haemophilia and a lung condition, was examined by one of two Brighton GPs who tested positive for coronavirus.
The family, including the boy’s mother, were taken to Worthing A&E by paramedics in full hazmat suits yesterday for tests, with results expected tomorrow.
In other developments, another 44 people have tested positive for coronavirus on board a quarantined cruise ship in Japan.
The dozens of new cases bring the total on board the Diamond Princess to 218, in addition to a quarantine officer who tested positive yesterday.
The remaining 3,500 passengers and crew are confined to their cabins with questions mounting about whether the quarantine is working.
Japan said today that elderly passengers could be moved off the ship if they test negative for the virus and quarantined in government housing instead.
David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are among the passengers stuck on the Diamond Princess.
The pair told Good Morning Britain couples are being split up if one of them tests positive for the virus.
And fears the Rio Carnival could bring the first cases of the deadly coronavirus to South America have today been raised.
David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are among 2,500 passengers who have been stuck on the Diamond Princess off the Japanese coast since February 3
The Diamond Princess is anchored off the port of Yokohama on February 9
Revelers take part in the ‘Banda de Ipanema’ street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last Saturday. Thousands have started attending the popular street parties ahead of the world’s famous carnival festival that begins on February 21
Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori (right) said there is no prospect of a cancellation
A million tourists descend on the Brazilian city from around the world each year for the carnival.
Officials in Rio de Janeiro are preparing for an outbreak by freeing up 120 hospital beds and training health workers how to spot symptoms of the virus.
Cancelling or postponing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is not being considered despite the coronavirus outbreak, organisers have said.
A number of sporting events have moved after the outbreak which has killed more than 1,350 people and infected ten of thousands more in China.
The Chinese Grand Prix, due to take place in April, has been postponed, while athletics, golf and football have also been impacted.
But Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said the Games would open as planned on July 24.
Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, he said: ‘I want to again state clearly that cancellation or postponement of the Tokyo Games has not been considered.’
It was also revealed today that Manchester United have banned new signing Odion Ighalo from the club’s training ground due to fears over coronavirus.
The striker, on loan from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenua is being made to train away from the AON Complex at Carrington while he is in the 14-day incubation period, according to the Mirror.
And MS Westerdam, the cruise liner stranded at sea for two weeks over coronavirus fears, has finally been allowed to dock in Cambodia.
Its 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members had been turned away by Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Guam and the Philippines.
China’s Communist Party has replaced the party heads in the coronavirus-stricken province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan, state media said today.
The news comes as the number of confirmed patients in the nation jumped more than seven times yesterday. A similar spike was seen in deaths.
The central government has set up a special cabinet task force under Premier Li Keqiang to handle the crisis.
Odion Ighalo has been training away from Manchester United’s base due to coronavirus fears
The graphic above shows the timeline of the Westerdam’s attempts to dock in various countries
MS Westerdam cruise ship is seen near a port in Sihanoukville, where it has been granted permission to dock following nearly two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over fears that someone aboard may have the coronavirus