Wuhan Coronavirus

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:46 pm on 11 February 2020.

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Photo of Matthew Hancock Matthew Hancock Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 1:46, 11 February 2020

I am grateful for the broad support expressed by the hon. Lady. I am also very grateful for the work of the devolved authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the work of the four CMOs across the UK, who have worked very closely together on what is a public health emergency.

To answer the hon. Lady’s specific questions, all those returning from any of the named countries, which I reiterated in my statement, should, if they are symptomatic, self-isolate. We are taking all measures that are deemed to be effective on the clinical advice. As a clinician herself, I am sure she will recognise the importance of following the epidemiological science wherever possible to make sure we take steps that will be effective and proportionate to the scale of the challenge.

The hon. Lady also asked about the monitoring of those returning on flights. We have enhanced monitoring in place for all those returning, as I said. She also asked about a publicity campaign to get the message across about what people can do—people should wash their hands and follow the advice in the “catch it, bin it, kill it” tissue-use campaign—as well as the important message that the first thing that someone should do is call 111. We have a very significant publicity campaign and I will double-check that that is being co-ordinated with the devolved authorities—I think it is but I will double-check, because that is very important.

Finally, to answer the point about the bus drivers, that decision was again taken on clinical advice to promote the safety of the passengers and balance all the considerations that needed to be taken into account.