A flight passenger returning from Wuhan due to the coronavirus, on Sunday, fell ill while on the plane. Upon landing, the authorities took him straight to the hospital.
A sick passenger onboard
According to reports, the passenger felt “slightly unwell.” This was while in the second flight arranged to evacuate British citizens from Wuhan. The Chinese city is the center of origin of the Coronavirus virus that has killed more than 300 people worldwide.
Immediately Officials isolated the passenger from the rest. As soon as the plane landed, they escorted the passenger to the hospital. We expect the passenger to go through various tests as health officials seek to identify the cause of the illness.
The other passengers who are ten in number were taken to staff quarters located at Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral, Merseyside. The location is the site that quarantined other 83 people evacuated earlier from China with the first flight.
Actions of the Public Health of England
Reports from China say that Public Health England carried out a quick assessment before letting the passengers into the plane.
No person on the ground had permission to come in contact with any of the passengers. The only persons who came in touch with the passengers were the ambulance crew, although they were in full protective kits.
The other passengers onboard the second flight are yet to show any symptoms. However, they remained quarantined in a different facility from those who returned with the first flight. An email from the chief executive of Wirral University teaching hospital MHS foundation trust, Janelle Holmes confirmed this.
The staff of Public Health England alerted the patients of this development by a note. They distributed the note on Monday. Liverpool Echo reports that “during the flight, one of the passengers started to feel slightly unwell, and self-isolated immediately.
The sick Passenger remained Isolated on suspicion on coronavirus
Upon landing, that passenger remained in insolation before moving to a different NHS hospital for various tests. We’ll keep you updated as we expect the tests result in the coming days.
Although the other ten new arrivals don’t show any symptoms, they are staying in different rooms in a separate facility quarantined from those there already. This precaution is necessary to prevent the people from further spreading any infection among themselves.
The situation or response of the authorities depends on a lot on where the person falls ill. If instead of falling ill on the plane, the person falls sick on arriving at the facility, then everyone who came in contact with him/her will have to be quarantined with another cycle of 14 days.
Everyone returning from the Hubei Province of China is kept in the staff accommodation area of Arrowe park.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the passenger had symptoms of a mild cold. They also said that “Our robust process continues to ensure there is no risk to the wider public from those in quarantine or those undergoing further treatment.”
The UK has no plans for travel bans to control coronavirus
Officials in the UK have no plans on following the same pattern introduced by the US, which ban foreign citizens recently in China from entering the country. The UK plans to go with advice from the World Health Organisation.
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Separately, officials of the UK don’t have plans to introduce a US-style travel ban. It bans foreign Nationals who have recently been in China from entering the country.
Sources told the media that the UK would take the advice of WHO. The advice doesn’t advocate such a travel ban.
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