Coronavirus: Cases double globally every five days as UK invests in search for new vaccine

Britain has 50 specialist beds and 500 more potentially to isolate victims, says health secretary

UK-wide Coronavirus information campaign launches

A British man who flew home from China ​suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms is expecting to receive results within hours telling him whether he has the illness.

Anthony May-Smith, who was put into isolation after landing, said later he felt fine.

The total number of deaths from the epidemic in China has risen to 362, with new infections in China increasing by 2,829 on Sunday, bringing the total to 17,205.

At least another 171 cases – including two in Britain – have been reported in countries including Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Spain and Thailand.

The number of cases of the virus worldwide is doubling roughly every five days, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, revealed.

It came as Chinese scientists revealed they had uncovered fresh evidence that the novel coronavirus had originated in bats. 

Please see below for what was our live coverage.

[3 February 2020 09:56 · Jon Sharman]

Kit plea

China urgently requires medical equipment to deal with the rapidly escalating outbreak, it has said.

“What China urgently needs at present are medical masks, protective suits, and safety goggles,”  foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a press briefing on Monday morning.

[3 February 2020 10:03 · Jon Sharman]

Lavrov call

Russia's foreign minister has spoken to his Chinese counterpart about the coronavirus today, Russian diplomats said.

Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi discussed cooperation between their countries on combatting the disease, a tweet said.

[3 February 2020 10:15 · Jon Sharman]

Evacuees trying to keep spirits up

Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside (Getty) 

Britons being held in quarantine on Merseyside are "in good spirits" and playing jokes on each other to keep the mood light during their two weeks of isolation, it has been reported.

Kharn Lambert, a PE teacher, told Sky News: "It's quite weird being home but not being home, and also being locked in - almost like being back in Wuhan really - where we can't get outside certain perimeters and go further, so it's a bit of a weird feeling really."

Of the original group, no-one was showing coronavirus symptoms or complaining about feeling unwell, he added.

There are 94 British nationals and their foreign relatives in the Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral.

[3 February 2020 10:18 · Jon Sharman]

Airlifted Briton falls ill

One of the 11 Britons evacuated from Wuhan has fallen ill and been taken to a separate location for testing, according to a report.

The person "immediately self-isolated" and was not taken to Arrowe Park Hospital with the rest of the group, according to a leaked email seen by the Liverpool Echo.

"None of the other 10 patients have shown any symptoms, but as a precautionary measure the 10 new guests were allocated rooms in a separate area of the facility, isolated from those already here," the hospital's chief executive reportedly told colleagues.

A Department of Health spokesperson refused to confirm, deny or comment on the report when contacted by The Independent.

[3 February 2020 10:33 · Jon Sharman]

Hospital timelapse

Want to see what building a hospital in 10 days looks like?

[3 February 2020 10:42 · Jon Sharman]

Trade issues

The coronavirus epidemic will hurt Vietnamese farm produce exports to China, the southeast Asian country's largest trading partner, Hanoi has said.

The government said last week that cross-border trade between Vietnam and China was "not encouraged" and on Sunday announced it would ban all flights to and from China over coronavirus concerns.

"Limited transport activities will hinder farm produce transactions between companies from the two countries," it said in a statement.

As of Sunday night, 175 trucks carrying 3,500 tonnes of dragon fruit were stuck at border gates in the northern province of Lang Son, the government said.

Chinese importers have also postponed taking deliveries of milk and seafood.

[3 February 2020 10:51 · Jon Sharman]

Case count

This infographic, created for The Independent by statistics agency Statista, shows the growth of the coronavirus outbreak.

Statista/The Independent 

[3 February 2020 11:02 · Jon Sharman]

Officials fired over boy's death

Two officials in China's Hubei province have been fired after a teenager with cerebral palsy died because his father, his sole carer, was taken into quarantine.

Yan Cheng, 16, was found dead on Wednesday, a week after his father was isolated.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said: "The local government was not practical and realistic when carrying out work and failed to perform its duty."

The Communist Party boss and town chief of Hong'an, where Yan lived, have been dismissed.

[3 February 2020 11:16 · Jon Sharman]

Possibility of new evacuation flights

UK citizens still in Hubei province who want to leave can fly home on a number of services this week, Britain's Chinese embassy has said.

"There will be a number of new flights this week arranged by partner countries," diplomatic staff said in a statement.

"We are working hard to get seats on those flights for British nationals and their immediate families - the Chinese authorities have confirmed that this would include Chinese and third-party nationals."

The flights may be the last ones available for foreigners to leave Hubei, the embassy added.

The statement appeared to address concerns that families were being split up by the nature of evacuation flights.

Here's a story we did last week about the issue:

[3 February 2020 11:30 · Jon Sharman]

Poor taste

A bar has sparked outrage by using the coronavirus to advertise deals on Corona beer “while the pandemic lasts”, writes Andy Gregory.

The New Zealand venue illustrated its promotion with an image of two men wearing boiler suits and gas masks while holding bottles of the Mexican beer.

The original Facebook post was removed after Corona’s distributor in New Zealand, Lion, reportedly complained and made clear the firm did not condone the advert.