A Chinese man staying in York has been taken to hospital by paramedics wearing quarantine suits amid fears around coronavirus.
The man had checked into the Staycity Aparthotel on Paragon Street, next to the York Barbican, on Wednesday and a fellow guest in the apartment is thought to have called a doctor after he became unwell.
The man and the other two guests, who are all understood to be Chinese, were taken away in an ambulance at about 8pm last night (Wednesday).
A witness said they saw a Chinese man with a mask on being put into the back of an amubulance “with two people in full white quarantine suits”.
The man’s hotel room and belongings have been cordoned off.
A spokeswoman for Staycity said:
-
We are in conversation with Public Health England.
He was taken away by paramedics masked up and suited so obviously that (coronavirus) is the concern but we’ve not had any confirmation of diagnosis or advice at the minute.
The woman said it was not known if the group had travelled from China or which hospital he had been taken to.
Apartment sealed off
Keith Freeman, chief operating officer of the hotel group said: “Following advice from Public Health England we have been advised that the risk is absolutely minimal and that nothing has been confirmed thus far.
“The health and safety of our guests and staff are paramount and as such the apartment containing the group’s belongings has been sealed off, after which it will undergo a thorough environmental clean and disinfection, as is company policy.”
When YorkMix made inquiries, both York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust referred us to the Department of Health and Social Care in London.
A spokesman for the DHSC said: “We can’t comment on individual cases and won’t be providing a running commentary on every potential test I’m afraid.
“There are currently no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.”
As of 2pm on Thursday (30 January), a total of 161 UK tests have concluded, of which 161 were confirmed negative and none were positive.