200 British and Foreign Nationals Evacuated from Wuhan, the Coronavirus Epicentre

By BBC

The UK government has announced new powers to fight the spread of coronavirus, saying it poses a "serious and imminent threat" to public health.

People can now be forcibly quarantined or sent into isolation and will not be free to leave under the new measures. However, the actual threat level announced by Public Health England last month remains "moderate".

There have been more than 40,000 cases of the virus globally, mostly in China, with four so far in the UK. The total number of deaths in China is now 908 - but the number of newly-infected people per day has stabilized.

In a statement on Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Arrowe Park Hospital, on the Wirral, and Kents Hill Park conference centre, in Milton Keynes, have been designated as "isolation" facilities in the UK.

It comes after the Foreign Office chartered two repatriation flights out of Wuhan, the city where the new coronavirus emerged.On Sunday, around 200 British and foreign nationals evacuated on the UK's final rescue flight arrived at RAF Brize Norton.