Coronavirus: Families torn apart as British mum told to leave son, 3, stranded in Wuhan – and dad forced to leave wife
BRITS stranded in Wuhan have spoken of their heart-wrenching decisions to break their families apart - after a mum was told to leave her three-year-old son behind while a dad was forced to fly home without his wife.
The agonising choices for Brits trapped in the centre of the coronavirus outbreak come as rescue flights are expected to start this week to bring people back from Wuhan.
Mum Natalie Francis, 31, who is working as an English teacher in Wuhan, has been told today she cannot bring her son, Jamie, home with her because he has a Chinese passport, despite being a British citizen.
Natalie said: "I got a call from some man at the Foreign Office who said I qualified for evacuation, but they cannot take my son.
"And I said, 'There's nothing you can do? I mean, I literally have a letter from you guys saying he is a British citizen.'
"They said anyone with Chinese nationality or other citizenship is not being allowed to go on.
"And then he went on to ask if I still want to go, and I'm like, 'So yeah, you want me to just abandon my son in China, and go home?'
"He was probably just trying to do his job but it's a ridiculous question."
Fears over the spread of the flu-like virus, which originated in Wuhan, are growing as:
- The death toll rose to 169 and countries warned their citizens over travel to China.
- Health authorities reported the number of confirmed cases had jumped by 1,459 to beyond 6,000.
- The epidemic has revived memories of the SARS outbreak that originated in China and killed nearly 800 as it spread around the world in 2002 and 2003.
- British Airways today suspended all flights to and from mainland China.
- Up to 300 British people are thought to be stranded in the Hubei area.
- Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Brits due to be evacuated from Wuhan will be quarantined for up to 14 days - possibly at a military base.
- Mr Hancock will chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee at 4.30pm today
She is now anxious Jamie will contract the lethal virus.
She said: "He got pneumonia in 2018 and the virus seems to affect those with pre-existing conditions.
"I am worried there may still be an effect from last winter.
"We weren't too worried before, but now that the virus is affecting people of all ages, it is becoming much more concerning."
Natalie said she, her husband and Jamie have been cooped up in her flat for the last fortnight and have only left three times to get supplies.
She said: "I am so worried about leaving my son. I am trying to get him a flight, and remain hopeful.
"The atmosphere is very scary and everything is becoming overwhelming and stressful."
Meanwhile Jeff Siddle, 54, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, travelled to the Hubei province with wife Sindy, 42, and their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine to spend Chinese New Year with her family in the village of Hongtu.
But the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has told Jeff that since Sindy has a Chinese passport, she will not be allowed to board the plane evacuating British nationals from Wuhan - even though she has held a visa for permanent residency in the UK since 2008.
IT software developer Jeff, 54, was forced to make the agonising choice between getting their young daughter out of the outbreak's epicentre, or keeping his family together.
He said: "My head is spinning. It's just horrendous.
"This ordeal just turned into our worst nightmare. How can they put a family in this position? Having to leave Sindy in China would be the worst thing that anyone could be put through.
"How am I going to tell Jasmine that her mum has to stay behind?"
Jeff said there were no health warnings in place when they flew out on January 15.
They were due to return to the UK on February 1 but their flight was cancelled.
Speaking to the BBC, Jeff said: "The Foreign Office has said they will be doing an airlift, probably tomorrow, but only for British citizens.
"The Chinese authorities are not allowing any Chinese residents to leave. I had to either leave my wife here in China or the three of us stay [here]. We're going to have a nine-year-old child separated from her mother. Who knows how long that's going to be?
"My daughter has been in floods of tears, she's devastated. My wife is trying to keep strong but is absolutely distraught. It was an awful decision.
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"The Foreign Office has said we have got to make our own way to Wuhan airport. We're a 3 hour drive away, but the roads are all on lockdown as well.
"We've called the local Chinese office to get some details but they're saying the only way we can get a car through is if we have a special diplomatic note, so I've phoned the Foreign Office and asked for that but they said they can't do it. So that's put another stress on top of everything.
"I feel really isolated. I can't speak any Chinese. I also feel the British government have been much slower to react than many other countries, like America, France and Japan.
"They seem to have been more proactive and have plans in place to get their citizens out."
Also stranded is Brit Tom Williams and his 35-week pregnant Canadian wife Lauren - who can't get to the local maternity hospital as all the roads are blocked.
Teacher Tom, from Cheltenham, said he had lived and worked in Wuhan for the past five years.
He revealed: "Local roads have been closed, which is making getting to the maternity hospital uncertain.
"The maternity hospital is also much closer to the initial area of the outbreak."
He posted a letter on social media in a bid to get his family - including his two-year-old son James - out of the crisis-hit city as soon as possible.
He wrote: "We are happy to be quarantined in Canada or the UK to guarantee the safety of the citizens there, but I also want to ensure the safety of my wife, son and unborn child.
"If I have to stay behind so be it. My family is my number one priority."
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Up to 300 British people are thought to be stranded in the Hubei area.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Brits due to be evacuated from Wuhan will be quarantined for up to 14 days.
Passengers may be asked to sign a contract before they board the plane saying they agree to being placed in quarantine. Anyone who does not wish to sign could be asked to stay.
Lecturer Yvonne Griffiths, who is currently in a hotel in Wuhan, said she received news early this morning that there is to be a flight to England.
She said: "We've to be there six to seven hours before the flight leaves, and we would have a screening from some health people here in Wuhan, and if we are not showing any symptoms then we'll be able to board that plane.
"If we were to be suffering temperature or any other symptoms, breathing problems, then there seems to be a possibility of quarantining at this end."
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "The safety of British nationals is our top priority and we have been in close contact with British nationals and their family members who might need help.
"Our priority is to keep British nationals and their family members together and have urgently raised this with the Chinese authorities."
