Matt Hancock 'expects more cases' of coronavirus in UK and tells those with symptoms to lock themselves away

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Jacob Jarvis5 February 2020

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said he expects to see more cases of the "very serious" coronavirus in the UK.

Mr Hancock said today there were still just two cases confirmed across Britain, though the government was wary of further diagnoses.

Commenting on those infected, he told BBC Breakfast: “They remain in quarantine and are being treated.

“But the process around that has gone well. They’ve been in isolation and when they are being treated they are being treated by people who are themselves protected from catching the virus from them so that process has worked well.”

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He spoke in the wake of Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urging all Brits in mainland China to leave if they can.

Asked about how they might do so, he told BBC Breakfast: “There are still commercial flights available. The principal that we are taking is that we want to take no chances with this virus. We want to take a science-led approach.

“The approach we have been taking is very much driven by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer. This is a very serious virus and having a very serious impact in china.

“There are two cases only here in the UK but we do expect more, so we are taking no chances.”

It comes as the government continues to look at evacuations for those stuck in the epicentre of the virus, in the Hubei province around the city of Wuhan.

British nationals still stranded in the epicentre of China’s coronavirus outbreak will be flown home on a "final" evacuation flight scheduled for Sunday.

The Foreign Office confirmed on Tuesday night it was chartering another plane to bring Britons back from virus-hit Wuhan.

Mr Hancock said people returning from other areas of China outside the Hubei province will not be quarantined and should instead remain at home to "self isolate" and call medics if they express symptoms.

“The advice is that if they have symptoms then they should stay at home, self isolate as it’s called, and call 111, not go to the GP or to the A&E because there’s a risk of spreading the virus,” he told BBC Breakfast.

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