BREAKING NEWS: CORONA VIRUS UPDATE – UK evacuates Chinese Embassy Staff as death toll rises.

The UK embassy and consulate in China will be manned by a skeleton staff from this morning as the death toll from the coronavirus soars. The government confirmed the move this morning as the number confirmed dead rose to 259 and rising.

A spokesperson said: ‘As of 31 January, some staff and dependants from the British Embassy and Consulates are being withdrawn from China. ‘Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain. ‘In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British Embassy and Consulates to provide assistance to British nationals from within China may be limited.’

China is facing deepening isolation over the epidemic with the United States and Australia leading a growing list of nations to impose extraordinary Chinese travel bans. The virus has now spread to more than two dozen nations, sending governments scurrying to limit their exposure. The United States toughened its stance Friday by declaring a national emergency, temporarily barring entry to foreigners who had been in China within the past two weeks.

Australia said it was barring entry to non-citizens arriving from China, while Australian citizens who had travelled there would be required to go into ‘self-isolation’ for two weeks. Similar steps have been taken by countries including Italy, Singapore, and China’s northern neighbour Mongolia. The United States, Japan, Britain, Germany and other nations already had advised their citizens not to travel to China.