Sj Desk
On Monday, Britain declared the novel coronavirus a serious and imminent threat to public health, allowing officials to isolate people displaying symptoms of the virus.
So far Britain has four recorded cases of coronavirus with zero deaths. British nationals who were brought in from the Chinese city of Wuhan, which is the epicentre of the epidemic are being quarantined for 14 days.
Arrowe Park Hospital, near Liverpool in northern England, and Kents Hill Park, in Milton Keynes, have been designated as isolation facilities.
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The virus is claiming lives with alarming speed as Sunday recorded the highest number of deaths in the mainland, nearing to 100 in a single day. 97 people died until midnight, increasing the total death toll in China to 908 and the number of infected to 40171. Coronavirus has made its way outside country borders as more than 300 cases have been reported globally in at least 25 countries.
Britain's health officials said that measures to delay and prevent further transmission were being taken.
“We are strengthening our regulations so we can keep individuals in supported isolation for their own safety and if public health professionals consider they may be at risk of spreading the virus to other members of the public,” a health ministry spokesman said.
WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “There’s been some concerning instances of the coronavirus spread (abroad) from people with no travel history to China. The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg”.
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China is also experiencing international isolation with several countries banning travellers from China -- both Chinese and foreigners. Apart from this, coronavirus scare is also leading to increased cases of discrimination and racism towards Asians.
