Coronavirus news: One UK patient confirmed as York student as US declares national emergency as nearly 12,000 infected globally

Samuel Osborne
·1 min read
The risk to the public from coronavirus is low and the chances of dying even if infected are also very low: AFP/Getty
The risk to the public from coronavirus is low and the chances of dying even if infected are also very low: AFP/Getty

Britain is withdrawing its Foreign Office staff from China hours after dozens of UK nationals were evacuated from the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.

They arrived at a hospital in Merseyside on Friday, where they will spend 14 days in quarantine.

Their arrival came as the UK’s first cases of the new disease were confirmed, with health officials urgently trying to trace those who came into contact with two people diagnosed with the virus.

Meanwhile, China’s death toll from the new virus rose to 259 on Saturday, with the number of confirmed cases reaching 11,791, surpassing the number in the 2002-2003 Sars outbreak.