Coronavirus: 6,000 locked down on cruise ship off Italy – live news

WHO says whole world must be on alert for Wuhan virus as UK citizens in Hubei told they will not be flown out on Thursday. Follow the latest news and live updates

• Whole world must be ready to deal with coronavirus, says WHO
• Japan and US fly citizens home as China death toll jumps
• Share your stories

LIVE Updated 1m ago

Matthew Weaver (now) and Alison Rourke (earlier)

Thu 30 Jan 2020 12.27 GMTFirst published on Thu 30 Jan 2020 00.04 GMT

Shares

444

• 50m agoNo 10: UK working urgently with China over evacuation flight
• 55m agoBA cancels China flights for a month
• 1h agoCruise ship in Italy on lockdown in virus scare
• 2h agoRussia closes its border with China
• 4h agoUK still negotiating 'difficult issues' over delayed evacuation
• 6h agoUK flight delayed
• 6h agoWuhan residents offered help to get home

1m ago 12:27

 

Nazia Parveen

A woman who witnessed an ambulance arriving at a locked down hotel in York has been describing the scene.

Speaking to the York Free Press, she said:

“I was just driving past the Staycity hotel and I saw I was coming up to flashing blue lights.

“When I got closer I saw a guy with a mask on and then two figures - I guess paramedics - in the back of the ambulance with him.

“They were in white quarantine suits with a box on the back.

“I was just taken aback. I’ve never seen anything like that. When it comes so close to home, that’s when it gets a bit scary.

“It is scary when you think about it.”

Chloe Laversuch(@ChloeLaversuch)

More on this as we get it - Chinese national taken to hospital after taken ill at York hotel https://t.co/gN9QGJzMmp

January 30, 2020

5m ago 12:23

Here are the main developments so far today:

• An Italian cruise ship, with 6,000 people on board, is on lockdown after two Chinese passengers on board are suspected of catching coronavirus. One of the couple has a fever and both are being kept in solitary confinement on board as the ship is docked in Civitavecchia, north of Rome.
• British Airways has cancelled all flight to and from China for a month. It claims the move was made in consultation with the Foreign Office.
• The UK government is “working urgently” with the Chinese authorities to allow a delayed evacuation flight to leave Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak. Dual national families in Wuhan have been told that UK citizens can leave, but Chinese nationals must stay behind.
• Russia has closed its border with China and will stop issuing electronic visas to Chinese nationals. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said: “We have to do everything to protect our people.”
• China has reported its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths. The death toll rose to 170 on Thursday – up from 132 the previous day, a rise of 29%. The number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 7,711, up from 5,974 a day earlier.
• Almost two-thirds of airport screening tests fail to detect people with coronavirus, according to new research. A team from the London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine found that the current techniques are ineffective because of the incubation period and the poor sensitivity of thermal scanners.
• Angry South Koreans have volleyed eggs and expletives at a minister and officials trying over plans to quarantine hundreds of citizens in Asan. “If it’s so safe why don’t you bring them to your home?” one protester shouted at the minister.
• China’s football association has cancelled all domestic games at all levels. Meanwhile, Ikea temporarily closed its stores in China. State-run Chinese media said officials who mishandled the crisis would be punished