The UK has said that the novel coronavirus outbreak constitutes a “serious and imminent threat to public health”.
There are over 37,000 cases of the virus globally – most of them in China where the outbreak was first reported in December.
Outside of China, the virus has appeared in 24 countries, including the United Kingdom which confirmed four cases of the virus.
Another 791 people tested in the United Kingdom tested negative for the virus.
The foreign office has advised UK citizens to leave China.
Cruise ship quarantine
An additional 66 passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 130 people on the cruise. The ship is anchored in Yokohama port and being quarantined until February 19.
Infected passengers were evacuated by the Japanese coast guard and being treated in the country.
A total of 3,700 people from 56 different countries are on board the ship.
Read more: Coronavirus outbreak: 66 additional cases of virus confirmed on cruise ship near Tokyo
Hong Kong, meanwhile, lifted a quarantine on another cruise ship – World Dream – after testing crew members aboard the ship.
The ship was placed under quarantine after eight Chinese passengers on a voyage last month were diagnosed with the virus.
Current situation
The new strain of coronavirus – officially called 2019-nCoV – has infected over 37.000 people and killed over 800, according to the latest World Health Organization situation report. The death toll has already surpassed that of the SARS outbreak in 2003.
An additional five cases of coronavirus were confirmed in France after a British citizen who had travelled from Singapour stayed in a ski resort in the Alps.
The five people are currently being hospitalised in Lyon, Saint-Etienne, and Grenoble. This brings the total number of cases in Europe to 37.
Many countries have repatriated citizens from the epicentre of the outbreak, Wuhan, China. Those citizens are being held in quarantine for a total of two weeks, the approximate incubation period of the virus.
