A resident of Bristol has been diagnosed with coronavirus three days after returning to his hometown in China from the UK.
The 35-year-old man reportedly works in Britain for a Chinese state-owned nuclear firm.
He flew back home with Cathay Pacific Airways from London Heathrow Airport to Hong Kong on February 27, according to Chinese health officials.
A Chinese man living in Bristol has been diagnosed with the coronavirus shortly after returning to his hometown from the UK. He had been living in Britain for two years before the trip. The file photo shows people in Bath, England, wearing face masks while walking on a street
The news comes as 51 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the UK. The picture shows people in Cambridge wearing face masks as outbreaks escalate outside of China
Globally, the coronavirus has killed at least 3,128 people and infected more than 92,100
The man, known by his surname Sun, then took a ferry from Hong Kong to Shenzhen where he is originally from.
He showed no symptoms when he arrived at the port, a statement said.
The news comes as 51 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the UK.
Mr Sun was taken to the hospital on February 29 by his wife after having coughs and fevers. A preliminary test came back positive, Shenzhen Health Commission announced.
He was confirmed to be infected with the killer virus by the Shenzhen Infectious Disease Centre on March 1 and is currently being treated in a quarantine unit at Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital.
Mr Sun had been living and working in Bristol for two years before his recent trip home.
Two of his colleagues back in the UK have also shown symptoms, officials revealed.
Coronavirus fears have gripped Britain, as a pedestrian is pictured wearing a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London
The local authority has tracked down 93 people who had come into close contact with Mr Sun. Among them, 46 are being quarantined at an isolation centre and none of them has shown any symptoms.
Mr Sun works in the UK office of state-owned Chinese corporation China General Nuclear Power Group, according to Chinese news outlet Caixin.
It is reported that health officials are still trying to determine when the man might have contracted the disease.
He allegedly returned to Shenzhen from London in mid-December before returning to the UK at the end of the same month.
His employer, China General Nuclear Power Group, has partnered up with British energy company EDF and to fund a third of the £20billion cost of the Hinkley Point C project, a nuclear power plant being built in Somerset.
Beijing has witnessed a surge of ‘imported cases’ brought into the country by people living in virus-hit regions overseas.
Face masks have become an increasingly common sight on the streets of London as concern about coronavirus rises
Most of BA’s cancellations are for short-haul flights between Heathrow and Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland. Pictured: A woman wearing a face mask at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport
Bank of England governor Mark Carney (pictured) said the international economic response to coronavirus will be ‘powerful and timely’, and played down fears there will be a worse hit than the 2008 credit crunch
PANIC-BUYING BRITS STRIP SUPERMARKET SHELVES OF PASTA, COUSCOUS AND WATER
Shelves in this London Tesco is empty of pasta, pasta sauces, rice and other staples but crisps and chocolate oranges appear to have been left
The shelves of British supermarkets are emptying at pace and staples are being rationed as coronavirus stockpiling spiralled out of control today amid warnings of ‘food riots’ if the crisis worsens.
Shortages previously limited to anti-bacterial hand gel and hand soap have spread to cupboard items such as rice, pasta, couscous, Pot Noodles, bottled water, toilet roll and pet food – as well as chilled items including milk, butter and yoghurt.
Pharmacy shelves are also emptying of paracetamol, ibuprofen and immune-system boosting tablets such as Berocca as people prepare to fight off the flu-like illness that has claimed hundreds of lives worldwide.
Facebook and Twitter is packed with photographs of empty shelves from major supermarkets across the UK where shoppers appear to have thrown empty boxes into the aisles in the mad scramble for items.
MailOnline readers have also shared pictures of their well-stocked larders as people prepare for weeks in isolation.
One reader said: ‘I have been trying for THREE days to buy pasta but I cannot see any as most shops have run out of pasta and pasta sauce’.
The scramble for food has also revealed what Britons do not consider essentials despite a China-style shutdown of communities predicted – including some flavours of crisps and confectionery including Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
Londoner Jasia Warren tweeted: ‘Interesting to see what people are stockpiling in my local supermarket. Bare shelves for rice, pasta, handwash, tissues and loo roll. Also interesting to see what people are not stockpiling: polenta, crumpets and get well cards. Their loss is my gain. #stockpiling’.
Eight Chinese citizens working in the same restaurant in northern Italy have been confirmed to have the virus after returning to their hometown via Germany and Russia.
Seven of them were diagnosed today by the authority of Qingtian County in Zhejiang Province.
They had been infected by their colleague, Ms Wang, who also lives in Qingtian and was diagnosed yesterday, the local government announced.
All of the eight people have been long-term residents in Italy and had never been to Wuhan, a statement said.
They travelled from Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy to their hometown in two groups between February 26 and 29.
Lombardy has been the hardest hit Italian area in the virus crisis. Out of Italy’s 2,036 positive cases, 1,254 come from the region which shares a border with Switzerland.
More than 70 nations are now battling the contagion which has killed 3,128 worldwide – with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected.
Elsewhere in China, Ningxia Province in north-western China reported one imported case from Iran on February 26 and Beijing reported another two cases who had returned from Iran. All three of them attended the same party in the Middle Eastern country on February 18.
Chinese authorities on Tuesday asked overseas Chinese to reconsider or minimise their travel plans.
Travellers from countries with severe coronavirus outbreaks who arrive in Guangdong province, an economic and export powerhouse in the south, must undergo a 14-day quarantine – state media reported on Tuesday.
The financial hub of Shanghai will also require all people, regardless of nationality, to remain in quarantine for 14 days if they have travelled to the city from a country with ‘relatively serious virus conditions’, an official said.
Dandong, the northern Chinese city which borders North Korea, said it would test all visitors who arrived in the city from February 12. Those who arrived from February 28 will be tested at designated hotels where they can undergo quarantine if infected.
‘We are trying to distance ourselves from the virus, but what cannot be broken is the flesh and blood relationships between overseas Chinese and their families in their hometowns,’ said the government of Qingtian county.
A woman wears a protective face mask while sitting on a London Underground train Tuesday
Experts say the virus can live on hard surfaces, such as handles or rails, for hours or even days after it leaves the body. A man is pictured on a train in London wearing a face mask today
A woman wears a face mask in London today, March 3. Scientists say masks are probably not any good at stopping the viruses, which are so tiny they can make it through the material
It added that travelling was the easiest way for cross-infections to happen, describing staying home as the ‘best form of protection’.
‘For the sake of your family’s health and safety, please strengthen your precautions, carefully decide on your travel plans and minimise mobility,’ it said.
Globally, the coronavirus has killed at least 3,128 people and infected more than 92,100.