UK coronavirus – Frantic hunt for HUNDREDS who came in contact with Brighton ‘super-spreader’ on ‘packed easyJet flight’
HUNDREDS of people who came into contact with a Brit coronavirus "superspreader" on a packed easyJet flight are being hunted after he is already feared to infected at least seven people.
The middle-aged businessman contracted the deadly virus while at a conference in Singapore and is now said to be at the centre of a web of cases across the UK, Spain and France.
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The mystery man was unaware he contracted the virus during a conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore organised by British gas firm Servomex.
A frantic search is now underway to find the hundreds of people he may have had contact with after he visited a number of different places when he returned.
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More than 900 people have died and 37,000 have become infected since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China.
It was announced today there are now eight confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK after four more people tested positive for the disease in England.
The new cases "are all known contacts of a previously confirmed UK case" with the virus passed on in France.
There are now fears the mystery Brit could have spread the deadly virus to 183 passengers and six crew on his busy easyJet flight from Geneva that landed at Gatwick on January 28.
From here, he flew to France where he inadvertently spread the deadly virus after staying four nights at a ski chalet in Contamines-Montjoie.
Brit owner Bob Saynor is now infected along with his nine-year-old son.
FRANTIC SEARCH
Five Brits who shared the chalet were diagnosed over the weekend and hundreds of people at the resort have been tested.
The family is understood to have been living in the village for just three months after moving from Hove, West Sussex.
Coronavirus fears are now heightened in Hove - including a Portslade Community Academy pupil being treated in "self isolation" after coming into contact with the super-spreader.
Five staff members at The Grenadier Pub in Hove are also in self-isolation at home after the man visited the boozer between 7pm and 9pm last Saturday.
Public Health England told the Grenadier's employees working on the night he popped in to stay at home for two weeks.
But other staff - including the chef - and customers are now said to be fuming after finding out the infected businessman had visited when they read it online, reports.
Kelly Fricker wrote on social media: "My ex-partner, my son and nephew all drink there and my nephew's the chef and they hadn't even heard about it".
A Brit dad was also quarantined in a Majorca hospital after testing positive and Spanish authorities appeared to confirm the case was again linked to the French ski chalet.
Mr Saynor's wife Catriona had left France by the time the investigation began and is under observation in a UK hospital.
It is not clear if she was the fourth case diagnosed in Britain.
French officials have closed the 95-pupil primary school attended by the Saynors' nine-year-old son and a 200-pupil school in nearby Saint-Gervais he attended for one day last week will also be shut.
Etienne Jacquet, the mayor of Les Contamines-Montjoie, said the chalet had now been disinfected.
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It was confirmed last night the Brit had flown back to Britain on an easyJet flight from Geneva - an hour from the chalet - that landed at Gatwick on January 28.
He fell ill shortly after landing and was rushed to a hospital in central London.
In a statement easyJet said:"easyJet has been notified by the public health authority that a customer who had recently travelled on one of its flights has since been diagnosed with the Coronavirus.
"Public Health England is contacting all customers on the flight which was flight EZS8481 from Geneva to London Gatwick on 28 January, to provide guidance in line with procedures.
"As the customer was not experiencing any symptoms, the risk to others on board the flight is very low.
We remain in contact with the public health authorities and are following their guidance.
"The health and well-being of our passengers and crew is the airline's highest priority.
"All of the crew who operated have been advised to monitor themselves for a 14-day period since the flight in line with Public Health England advice. Note this happened 12 days ago and none are displaying any symptoms."
Medical experts say the incubation period is up to 14 days with those coming from the centre of the virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan usually showing symptom after seven days.
