Birmingham man told he is clear of coronavirus

A man from Birmingham quarantined for three days amid fears he had contracted deadly coronavirus has been told he does not have the virus.

Drew Bennett, 39, from Harborne, returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan - the epicentre of the outbreak - on December 31.

Since arriving back in Birmingham he had been suffering with what he believed was a bad case of the flu.

But after visiting his GP on January 27th he was sent home and medics in biohazard suits arrived to rush him to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Urgent tests were carried out on Mr Bennett and today (January 30th), after a worrying three-day stay in isolation, he finally learned he was free of the virus.

Drew said:

Mr Bennett will now be able to leave hospital and return to his home in Harborne.

The coronavirus outbreak could last several months and its current course is unpredictable, scientists have said.

As of 30 January, a total of 161 UK tests have concluded, of which 161 were confirmed negative and none were positive.

A total of 1,466 passengers and 95 staff arrived in the UK on direct flights from Wuhan between 10 and 24 January.

Of those, 162 of the passengers have already left the UK and 760 are now outside of the incubation period.

Public Health England are working to contact the remaining passengers.