Foreign nationals who live in China or planned to visit say they have been left in limbo as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, with many unsure of when they can return to work or get a refund for their trip.
Those who live and work in the country said travel restrictions had left them stranded and unable to return home, while people planning to visit the country could lose hundreds of pounds.
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
- Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
- Advice about face masks varies. Wearing them while out and about may offer some protection against both spreading and catching the virus via coughs and sneezes, but it is not a cast-iron guarantee of protection
Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area.
In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.
If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.
This month the UK Foreign Office advised the 30,000 British nationals in China to leave if possible and warned against all but essential travel to the mainland. The British consulates general in Wuhan and Chongqing remain closed.
British Airways, which has suspended flights to Beijing and Shanghai until 31 March, is one of nearly a dozen airlines to restrict travel to China.
Peter Hughes, a British lecturer at a university in Henan province, which is near Wuhan, had flown to the UK to see his family and friends in early January. He said he had received no information from his university or any airlines about his prospects of returning home.
Hughes, who realised he could not return home when he saw on Sky News that Virgin and BA had suspended flights to mainland China, said: “Nobody knows what is going on. I’m in total limbo because of a lack of any information.”
His employers told him to not book a flight back but to instead enjoy an extended holiday. However, they have yet to provide any further information. “I am just one in 1,000. There are so many foreign teachers in China who are in the same position,” he said.
Karel Frederik Bruwer, a teacher living and working in Shenzhen in the south-east, said he went on holiday to visit family and friends in Mpumalanga, in his home country of South Africa, on 22 January and was still there.
He has not received any information on when he can return. His offices are shut until 1 March and he is insure what will happen next. Like many other companies and schools, he has been asked to register for online classes.
“It’s a bit of a mess, as one would expect from something as terrifying as an unknown virus,” said Bruwer, 34. “I’m enjoying my time at home in South Africa with family and friends but do feel worried about my colleagues and students trapped in limbo in China.
“At least I am able to enjoy the summer weather here – but they are currently holed up inside their homes, living a very surreal life.”
Holidaymakers who booked trips to China from April have yet to receive a refund. Many have been told to wait to see if the travel advice changes.
Laurent Dammé, a 30 year-old doctor who lives in Luxembourg, had booked a trip to take part in the Great Wall Marathon. However, the race was cancelled on Wednesday. Though he was reimbursed for the fees he paid to participate, he is yet to receive information on his British Airways flight.
“I was disappointed when I heard the marathon was cancelled. As I was there to participate in the marathon, I’d want to be reimbursed for my flight as well, but right now British Airways don’t have any updates about their flights for April and May. I talked to them yesterday but I didn’t get any new information,” he said. “I will have to wait to see what happens.”
Adam Wilkins, 50, is in a similar predicament. The service engineer from Gloucestershire had booked a trip to visit China in April with his wife. Wilkins, who was due to travel on 4 April, said: “We’re in limbo because we’ve booked time off work and we’d like to go but we can’t book anywhere else until we know we’re not going.”
He paid the deposit for the trip last year and had to settle the outstanding balance two weeks ago, despite the Foreign Office advising British nationals not to go. “It was a choice between paying the balance or losing our deposit,” he said.
Wilkins said while the issue could seem like “a first-world problem” – he was aware many people were in a worse situation – he had booked the holiday to give him and his wife something to look forward to after the death of her father last year.
