A British family who had been trapped at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak is to fly out of China after a last-minute U-turn by the country’s authorities.

Previously, they had said that no one with a Chinese passport would be allowed to travel. However, on Thursday night, as the evacuation flight from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak, was readying to depart, the Foreign Office confirmed that Britons would be allowed to bring their dependants onboard and dual nationals would also be allowed.

Matt Raw, who has lived in Wuhan for the past year with his wife, Ying, and 75-year-old mother, Hazel, who suffers from dementia, were at the airport on Thursday night. The family had earlier been told that Ying, who has a UK visitor visa valid until July but a Chinese passport, was not allowed on the flight and the family had decided to stay put.

However, Raw told the Guardian: “We have actually finally been given permission to fly. We are at the airport now and we’re just getting ready to go through security. We’ve obviously been able to get my mother and my wife has been told she can fly, she has a ticket, so fingers crossed we get through security and we return to England hopefully later on today.”

Q&A How can I protect myself and others from the coronavirus outbreak? Show Hide The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine. The UN agency advises people to: Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap

Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing

Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough

Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers

Advice about face masks varies. Wearing them while out and about may offer some protection against both spreading and catching the virus via coughs and sneezes, but it is not a cast-iron guarantee of protection Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

It was unclear how many other Britons with Chinese dependants or dual nationals were aware of the U-turn. A British father and daughter said earlier that they had also decided to stay in the country rather than leave behind their wife and mother, who has a Chinese passport.

Previously the father, who does not want to be named, said: “It’s just awful weighing up taking my daughter out and keeping her safe, but leaving my wife behind.”

The family also experienced problems getting hold of paperwork to enable them to pass through roadblocks that have been placed throughout Hubei province to limit movement.

Earlier on Thursday night, 38-year-old Chris Hill said that he had refused to board the flight back to the UK because because the Foreign Office could not confirm whether his four-year-old daughter, a Chinese national, would be allowed to join him.

Hill, from Sunderland, said his wife of 11 years could not travel as she was needed to work in a hospital in Wuhan, and he could not consider leaving his family.

He said his daughter, Renee, had some understanding of events and had expressed that she didn’t want her father to leave.

“She knows that people are ill, and she knows not to spend time around many people, but I did ask her, if daddy had to go back home and you had to stay here would you want me to go, and she said no,” he said.

Hill has also criticised the planning of the flight, saying that he was given just seven minutes’ notice to arrive at the airport.

“There’s no cars, there’s no taxis, anything, and the FCO say, ‘Oh we’ll pick you up from Wuhan Tianhe airport but you have to make your own way there’. That gives me a very bad taste in my mouth. It’s just bad planning.”

He added that he was “losing faith” in the government. It was unclear whether Hill was aware of the U-turn.