Coronavirus: Update from TIER group

Please see below the latest situation update on Coronavirus. VisitBritain and DCMS will continue to feed in tourism concerns to Government.

 Situation update 28 January 2020

  • There are currently no confirmed cases in the UK or of UK citizens abroad, and the risk to the public is low. The government is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and international community.
  • The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are working to make an option available for British nationals to leave Hubei Province due to the heavy travel restrictions and increased difficulty of accessing consular or medical assistance. See the full announcement here

Updated advice for travellers from Wuhan as of 28 January 2020

  • From today 28 January, Public Health England are asking anyone in the UK who has returned from Wuhan in the last 14 days to self-isolate. Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people – and to contact NHS 111. If you are in Northern Ireland, you should phone your GP.
  • Public Health England are also asking people to follow this advice even if they do not have symptoms of the virus.

What this means in practice

  • People are asked to take simple, common-sense steps to avoid close contact with other people as much as possible, like they would with other flu viruses.
  • This means remaining at home for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan and not going to work, school or public areas.
  • Where possible, you should avoid having visitors to your home, but it’s ok for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food
  • Transport – you should not use public transport or taxis until 14 days after your return from Wuhan.
  • Getting food and medicine – it is recommended that you stay at home for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan, and avoid public places. Where possible, contact a friend, family member or delivery services to carry out errands on your behalf.

Other information

  • Chinese authorities have ordered all their national travel agencies and online travel companies to temporarily suspend business, leisure, group travel and ‘ticket and hotel’ products effective immediately. Whilst individual travel has not been mentioned specifically, the authorities are keen to ensure that the disease is contained
  • The Chinese Government are asking travel companies, operators and tourism businesses around the world to facilitate booking changes and cancellations to help reduce the movement of crowds and reduce the spread of the virus. At the moment the Chinese Government are not offering any compensation to cancelled groups.

This is a fast moving situation and the best source of information for any visitors with individual questions or concerns is Public Health England. Visitors can keep up to date with the latest advice from the UK Government’s website here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-and-avian-flu-advice-for-travel-to-china and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public#advice-for-travellers-from-wuhan – this page is being updated daily at 2pm until further notice

Posted on 29 January 2020

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Sophie Milne

A member of the Marketing and Communications team at Marketing NG, Sophie manages press and PR. This includes writing and distributing press releases, arranging FAM trips, liaising with the media to gain press coverage for Nottingham/shire and Marketing NG, monitoring the news and ensuring colleagues are kept up to date with news stories and doing media interviews.