CITY ON LOCKDOWN
China sends the army into coronavirus epicentre as medics claim 90,000 infected with killer bug
CHINESE soldiers wearing medical masks have been deployed to the epicentre of the killer conoravirus outbreak.
Footage shows troops unloading supplies from the back of a jet in Wuhan - amid unconfirmed reports 90,000 people are now infected in the crisis-hit country.
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The Chinese military has been deployed to send supplied to Wuhan, in the Hubei province
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Ma Xiaowei, China's health minister, said China was entering a "crucial stage" as "it seems like the ability of the virus to spread is getting stronger".
The virus is believed to have originated from a meat market in Wuhan, where authorities are now racing to build two separate hospitals - one with 1,000 beds and another with 1,300.
Wuhan is receiving a massive delivery of 14,000 hazmat suit, 110,000 pairs of gloves as well as masks and goggles.
Overworked staff at hospitals in Wuhan have made desperate pleas online for more medical supplies and claimed tens of thousands are infected - a far cry from the government's 1,975 figure.
One nurse said: "At this moment, Hubei province, including Wuhan area, even China, 90,000 people have been infected by coronavirus."
Distressing video and photos reportedly from Wuhan show the conditions staff are working in.
One disturbing video is said to show the shocking moment a coronavirus victim is seen "fitting" uncontrollably on a hospital trolley.
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On the 15-second footage, being circulated on Twitter, a woman can be seen holding the head of a patient who is hidden under a blanket.
Others wearing protective masks can be seen looking on in horror as the unseen person shakes and writhes violently from head-to-toe.
Coronavirus can cause seizures and convulsions among some feverish sufferers.
One unverified video reportedly filmed by a nurse in a Wuhan hospital appears to show overcrowded hallways and staff in fully-protective body suits allegedly stepping over three dead bodies.
Overworked medical staff are also wearing diapers because they don't have time to use the toilet and others do so because they fear ripping off their hazmat suits when supplies are already so low,
China's president Xi Jinping yesterday warned of a "grave situation" as he said the killer coronavirus was "accelerating its speed".
Resources and experts will be placed at designated hospitals to tackle the virus and supplies to the Hubei province, where the virus originated, will be guaranteed and cost won't be a hindrance, according to the TV report.
The government has sent 450 military medical staff, including those who have experience in fighting against SARS or Ebola, to the epicentre of the outbreak, according to .
Wuhan has been placed on lockdown since Thursday as the Foreign Office has urged all Britons trapped in the city to leave if they are able to.
'WE HAVE NO INFORMATION'
A Birmingham City University lecturer has told how she is stranded in the coronavirus-plagued city of Wuhan - and doesn't know how she will get home.
Dr Yvonne Griffiths, 71, was visiting the China as part of a three-week education trip when she was caught up in the outbreak.
She due to fly back tomorrow but since the city has been on lockdown she has no idea when she will be able to leave.
Only a handful of flights are scheduled to leave Wuhan Airport and it is unclear if the grandmother's planned departure will take off.
Dr Griffiths said: "The university in Birmingham very quickly booked myself and a couple of colleagues on a flight home on Monday and then we heard on Thursday that the airport here had closed and there was effectively lockdown of all public transport.
"At the moment we have no news when the airport will reopen.
"There's absolutely no information coming from any source when the lockdown will finish and when the public transport will reopen, so that's a concern."
Dr Griffiths said she had not be given any information about the risks to her own health.
She said: "If we're out and about we don't know what the risk is. And it seems maybe the British government has a lack of either concern or lack of planning in place, I'm not sure.
"I think there's a lot of uncertainty - that's what's frustrating at the moment as much as disappointing."
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The Foreign Office updated its guidance to "advise against all travel to Hubei province", which has been on lockdown for several days as China seeks to contain the illness.
But the guidance also added: "If you are in this area and able to leave, you should do so. This is due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak."
UK Home Secretary Patel said today the government was "looking at all options" as it considers airlifting British nationals from Wuhan.
Wuhan Nurse says 90,000 people already infected by coronavirus
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What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an airborne virus, spread in a similar way to colds and the flu.
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
In most cases, you won't know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease or people with weakened immune systems.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, SARS, infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control, killing 800 of those worldwide.
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