
Police in the UK have been given the power to seize people in danger of spreading coronavirus and force them into isolation in handcuffs, the government announced today.

A new law was hurriedly brought into force after a patient staying at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral reportedly tried to leave before completing the 14-day stay after his return from China.

Government sources said those who returned to the UK on the evacuation flights on January 31 were given a 'very clear choice' and had to sign contracts saying they would remain in isolation for a fortnight.

But a source involved with the Arrowe Park incident said: 'We found we didn't have the necessary enforcement powers to make sure they didn't leave.'

Police will now be able to force people to remain in the units and, if they leave, to arrest them for committing an offence and take them back to the quarantine facility, MailOnline understands.

And they will also be allowed to hunt down and capture people if they 'may be infected or contaminated [and] could present a risk to public health'.

This extraordinary power comes after footage from China showed a team of around a dozen security officials chasing a suspected coronavirus patient through the streets in a bid to catch them.

England today announced its fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cases of the virus in Brighton – all of the three men and a woman are linked to the fourth patient, who has now been dubbed a 'super-spreader'.

The fourth patient was a businessman who returned to the UK from a conference in Singapore via a ski chalet in France, where other Britons were subsequently taken ill with the virus.

The Department of Health today declared the outbreak a 'serious and imminent' threat to the British public as it announced new powers to fight the spread.

In other developments to the outbreak today:

World Health Organization chief warns coronavirus outbreak could 'only be the tip of the iceberg' amid fears thousands of cases are going missing

Just under a fifth of known cases of the new coronavirus in China may be resulting in death, a new report estimates

The coronavirus can survive on door handles and bus or train poles for up to nine days - more than four times longer than flu, according to research

London's FTSE 100 weakened after Mr Hancock declared the coronavirus outbreak a serious and imminent threat to public health

Nearly 100 people died from coronavirus in China yesterday on the deadliest day of the six-week outbreak so far

Amazon and Sony are the latest companies to pull out of this month's Mobile World Congress, due to be held in Barcelona, because of the coronavirus outbreak

Sixty-six more passengers on a cruise ship in Japan have been diagnosed the killer infection, taking the ship's toll to around 136

Two quarantined patients are seen looking out of a window at the isolation facility in Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral, Merseyside. Their two weeks of isolation is expected to come to an end on Saturday this week

A member of staff at the County Oak Medical Centre in Brighton has reportedly been diagnosed with the coronavirus today. The surgery is closed because for 'urgent operational health and safety reasons'

The announcement by Matt Hancock (pictured) gives the Government greater powers to fight the spread of the virus, with eight confirmed cases in the UK

A total of five people have now been diagnosed in Brighton. The four new cases have been linked to the first man who was diagnosed there after returning from the Alps

WHAT LEGAL POWERS IS THE UK USING TO HELP TACKLE CORONAVIRUS? The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has declared that the coronavirus outbreak represents a 'serious and imminent threat to public health'. But what does this mean, and how does it affect the response to cases of the virus in the UK? What is the impact of the Government's latest announcement? The DHSC said following its declaration that the risk to the public had not changed, but it was 'strengthening' regulations over safety and to help health professionals. New legal powers mean people with coronavirus can be forcibly quarantined and will not be free to leave, and can be forcibly sent into isolation if they pose a threat. Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside and Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes, both housing Britons who have returned from Wuhan, the source of the coronavirus outbreak, are now designated 'isolation facilities'. Why was the announcement made now? MailOnline understands the Government's move was in response to one of the Britons who returned from Wuhan attempting to leave isolation at Arrowe Park. This is despite all the Britons who returned on a evacuation flight signing a contract agreeing to a 14-day quarantine period. There were concerns over whether those contracts are legally enforceable, leading to the new regulations. Advertisement

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said of today's new regulation: 'I will do everything in my power to keep people in this country safe.

'We are taking every possible step to control the outbreak of coronavirus. NHS staff and others will now be supported with additional legal powers to keep people safe across the country.

'The transmission of coronavirus would constitute a serious threat – so I am taking action to protect the public and isolate those at risk of spreading the virus.

'Clinical advice has not changed about the risk to the public, which remains moderate. We are taking a belt and braces approach to all necessary precautions to ensure public safety.

'Our infection control procedures are world leading – what I am announcing today further strengthens our response.'

Mr Hancock said that the new measures 'are considered as an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission of the virus.'

The regulations have been issued under the 1984 Public Health (Control of Disease) Act, which grants the Health Secretary powers to stop illnesses spreading.

They take effect immediately, putting into law the power to capture and detain people who are suspected of having the coronavirus. It is understood that the police will have the power to force people to comply if necessary.

Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside and Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes are now designated as 'isolation' facilities – it is primarily the people staying in these facilities who will be affected by the new regulation.

A police van is pictured outside of Arrowe Park Hospital this morning, January 10. Accommodation there is being used to quarantine people who were evacuated from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the virus outbreak

A total of 93 people are being held in Arrowe Park in Merseyside in case they caught the coronavirus in China. They are expected to be let out on Thursday this week

More than 40,000 people have been infected with the virus and 910 are confirmed to have died, all but two of them in China

BRIGHTON GP PRACTICE CLOSED AFTER MEMBER OF STAFF CATCHES THE CORONAVIRUS A Brighton GP practice has been closed because a member of staff – thought to be a doctor – has tested positive for the killer coronavirus which has now infected eight people in the UK. It is feared the staff member came into contact with a British 'super spreader', who is believed to have infected at least 11 others on a French ski holiday. Patients at Brighton's County Oak Medical Centre, which said it had shut for 'health and safety reasons', have been urged to ring NHS 111 if they have any concerns. Five new patients – four men and a woman – were diagnosed with the deadly infection in Brighton over the weekend and transferred to specialist hospitals in London to be treated in quarantine for 14 days. All of the patients were 'known contacts' of a businessman from neighbouring Hove, who became the UK's third case last Friday after picking up the virus at a work conference in Singapore. They are all believed to have been staying in the same chalet in Les Contamines-Montjoie, close to Mont Blanc. The six others who have fallen ill since holidaying with the 'super-spreader' include five more Britons being cared for in a French hospital and a father-of-two British expat who flew home to Majorca where he became ill. Advertisement

There are currently 93 UK citizens at Arrowe Park and 105 in Milton Keynes. Another man, who felt ill on a China evacuation flight, is being kept in isolation at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Nobody who was evacuated from Wuhan is known to have brought the virus back with them – all cases in the UK so far have been among others who travelled to Asia or came into contact with people who did.

As of today at 2pm, a total of 1,114 people have been tested for the coronavirus and 1,106 have been negative, with eight testing positive.

The first 83 Britons evacuated from Wuhan should have completed 14 days in quarantine on Thursday after they landed at RAF Brize Norton on Friday, January 31.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said this morning: 'Our infection control procedures are world leading and the NHS is well prepared to deal with novel coronavirus.

'We are strengthening our regulations so we can keep individuals in supported isolation for their own safety and if public health professionals consider they may be at risk of spreading the virus to other members of the public.

'This measure will rightly make it easier for health professionals to help keep people safe across the country.'

It comes after a British man who caught coronavirus in Singapore appears to be linked to at least seven other confirmed cases in England, France and Spain.

Health officials are not confirming a link or giving detail on his relationship to the other people diagnosed with the illness, but he is reported to be a middle-aged British man and is understood to have been the first UK national to contract the disease.

China's president, Xi Jinping, was filmed on state television visiting a hospital in Beijing while wearing a protective mask today

More than 40,000 people have now caught the killer coronavirus – nearly 99 per cent of the cases have been recorded in China

A person in the city of Wuhan is pictured wearing a plastic bag on their head in a desperate attempt to protect themselves them the virus

A cleaner is pictured in a deserted compound outside of an office building in Beijing today. Chinese businesses have finally started to reopen after a prolonged public holiday put in place to try and stop the virus

A supermarket worker in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, is pictured covered head to toe in protective gear

Figures also show 910 people have now died across the world, with all but two deaths recorded in mainland China

What we know about the Britons infected with coronavirus and the patients ill in the UK Cases in the UK and where they are being cared for: York and Newcastle: Two Chinese nationals who became ill while staying at Staycity Aparthotel in York on Wednesday January 29 are being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. Brighton and London: The third person to be diagnosed in the UK was a businessman from Brighton who caught the infection while on a work trip in Singapore, then became ill in Brighton after travelling home via a chalet at the Les Contamines Montjoie ski resort in the French Alps. He flew back to the UK on Easyjet flight EZS8481 from Geneva to London Gatwick on January 28 and is now being treated at St Thomas' Hospital in London. France and London: A fourth adult, believed to be Dr Catriona Saynor, who was staying at the same chalet in France was diagnosed with the virus on Sunday, February 9, and is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Brighton and London: Four more people were diagnosed with the coronavirus in Brighton on Monday, February 10. They are thought to be linked to the Brighton businessman and caught the virus in France. They are being treated at the St Thomas' and Royal Free hospitals in London. Total: Eight people British expats and holidaymakers outside the UK Majorca: A British father-of-two who stayed in the French Les Contamines Montjoieski ski resort tested positive after returning to his home in Majorca. His wife and two children are not ill. France: Five British people became infected after coming into contact with the Brighton businessman. They include the French chalet's owner, environmental consultant Bob Saynor, 48, and his nine-year-old son û relatives of the UK case Catriona Saynor. They are all in a French hospital. Japan: A British man on board a cruise ship docked at a port in Japan tested positive for coronavirus, Princess Cruises said. Alan Steele, from Wolverhampton, posted on Facebook that he had been diagnosed with the virus. Believed to be on his honeymoon, Steele said he was not showing any symptoms but was being taken to hospital. Total: Seven people Advertisement

A Department of Health statement said this morning: 'The Secretary of State has made regulations to ensure that the public are protected as far as possible from the transmission of the virus.

'The Secretary of State declares that the incidence or transmission of novel coronavirus constitutes a serious and imminent threat to public health, and the measures outlined in these regulations are considered as an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission of the virus.'

Mr Hancock has also designated Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral, and Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes, where Britons evacuated from Wuhan have been transferred to, as 'isolation' facilities.

Wuhan and Hubei province, where the virus originated, have also been declared an 'infected area' by the health secretary.

Last week Mr Hancock warned that Britain will be battling for 'months to come' with the number of cases doubling every five days.

He said: 'Currently the number of cases is doubling around every five days and it's clear that the virus will be with us for at least some months to come. This is a marathon, not a sprint.'

He added: 'We've also launched a public information campaign setting out how every member of the public, including members of this House, can help by taking simple steps to minimise the risk to themselves and their families.

'Washing hands, using tissues when you sneeze, just as you would with flu.'

The announcement comes as a British 'super spreader' is feared to have infected at least seven others with the coronavirus, prompting the emergency testing of hundreds of people on his flights, ski break and even his local pub.

The businessman is at the centre of a web of cases stretching across the UK, France and Spain after he apparently contracted the virus during a four-day trip to Singapore for a sales conference for gas analysis company Servomex.

The man in his fifties then jetted from south-east Asia to the Alps to ski in Les Contamines-Montjoie in late January where two more Britons became infected despite the 'super spreader' not having any cold or flu-like symptoms.

Medical workers in heavy-duty protective clothing are pictured at Yokohoma Port in Japan, where more than 100 people have been diagnosed with the infection on-board a cruise liner which is

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR What is this virus? The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been identified as a new type of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens, most of which cause mild lung infections such as the common cold. But coronaviruses can also be deadly. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is caused by a coronavirus and killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s. Can the Wuhan coronavirus kill? Yes – almost 3,000 people have so far died after testing positive for the virus. What are the symptoms? The infection which the virus causes has been named COVID-19. Some people who catch it may not have any symptoms at all, or only very mild ones like a sore throat or a headache. Others may suffer from a fever, cough or trouble breathing. And a small proportion of patients will go on to develop severe infection which can damage the lungs or cause pneumonia, a life-threatening condition which causes swelling and fluid build-up in the lungs. How is it detected? The virus's genetic sequencing was released by scientists in China and countries around the world have used this to create lab tests, which must be carried out to confirm an infection. Delays to these tests, to test results and to people getting to hospitals in China, mean the number of confirmed cases is expected to be just a fraction of the true scale of the outbreak. How did it start and spread? The first cases identified were among people connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. Cases have since been identified around China and are known to have spread from person to person. What are countries doing to prevent the spread? Countries all over the world have banned foreign travellers from crossing their borders if they have been to China within the past two weeks. Many airlines have cancelled or drastically reduced flights to and from mainland China. Is it similar to anything we've ever seen before? Experts have compared it to the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The epidemic started in southern China and killed more than 700 people in mainland China, Hong Kong and elsewhere. SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK HERE TO SEE MAILONLINE'S FULL Q&A ON THE CORONAVIRUS Advertisement

Britain's health authorities have also contacted 183 passengers and six crew on an Easyjet flight then taken by the unnamed man from Geneva to London, warning that they could be infected.

Staff at the pub where the 'super spreader' is a drinker are furious with health chiefs and claim they only found out he was ill after reading it online.

Five workers at The Grenadier in Hove have been told to self-isolate for a fortnight after the gas salesman, in his fifties, went there for a pint on Saturday, February 1.

Public Health England told the Grenadier's employees working on the night he popped in to stay at home for two weeks and said they are warning anyone who could be infected.

But other staff and drinkers there on a busy Saturday evening have claimed they learned of the development on Facebook or via the local paper, the Brighton Argus.

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'.

Elsewhere in Brighton, a health centre has been closed after four more cases of coronavirus were linked to the city.

The clinic was closed for urgent operational health and safety reasons. The County Oak Medical Centre closed on Monday morning.

And an East Sussex secondary schoolchild has also been told to stay at home for two week amid fears he came into contact with the so-called 'super spreader'.

Officials have desperately tried to stop further spread with a cross-border hunt for all the hundreds of people he may have had contact with.

Today nine Britons have been confirmed to have the killer virus – five in France, one in Japan, one in Spain and two in the UK. Two others in the UK are ill, but they are believed to be Chinese nationals holidaying in Yorkshire.

More than 900 people have died and 37,000 have become infected since the outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which has been placed in lockdown to curb the spread.

More than 100 Britons were placed in quarantine at a three-star hotel in Milton Keynes yesterday after another airlift from Wuhan.

Wearing masks and escorted by health staff in hazmat suits, the group flew from China to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Public Health England is under pressure to reveal where the so-called 'super spreader' had been and the full extent of the numbers under observation.

The task has been made more difficult because the patient, from Hove in East Sussex, interrupted his return from Singapore to Britain by taking a four-day break in the French Alps.

The super spreader had been at the chalet close to Les Contamines' main ski lifts where five people became ill

Five staff at the Grenadier pub in Hove have been instructed to self-isolate after he visited for two hours on February 1

HOW THE CORONAVIRUS HAS SPREAD OVER TIME The vast majority of coronavirus cases have been in mainland China, but more than 25 other countries and territories have declared infections: Egypt: 1 case, first case February 14

Belgium: 1 case, first case February 4

Spain: 2 case, first case January 31

Sweden: 1 case, first case January 31

Russia: 2 cases, first case January 31

UK: 9 cases, first case January 31

India: 3 cases, first case January 30

Philippines: 3 cases, first case January 30

Italy: 3 cases, first case January 30

Finland: 1 case, first case January 29

United Arab Emirates: 8 cases, first case January 29

Germany: 16 cases, first case Jan 27

Sri Lanka: 1 case, first case Jan 27

Cambodia: 1 case, first case Jan 27

Canada: 7 cases, first case Jan 25

Australia: 15 cases, first case Jan 25

Malaysia: 19 cases, first case Jan 25

France: 11 cases, first case January 24

Nepal: 1 case, first case January 24

Vietnam: 16 cases, first case Jan 24

Singapore: 58 cases, first case January 23

Macau: 10 cases, first case Jan 22

Hong Kong: 53 cases, first case January 22

Taiwan: 18 cases, first case Jan 21

USA: 15 cases, first case January 20

South Korea: 28 cases, first case January 20

Japan: 251 cases, first case January 16

Thailand: 33 cases, first case Jan 13 Advertisement

The middle-aged man contracted the virus during a conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore organised by Servomex, a British gas analytics company, more than two weeks ago.

He then travelled to a ski chalet in Les Contamines-Montjoie, near Megeve, from January 24 to 28. He returned to Britain on an Easyjet flight on January 28 but fell ill after arriving in Britain.

An easyJet spokeswoman 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 passengers who were seated in the vicinity of the customer on 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.'

Chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said the patient, who is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London, is 'a known contact of a previously confirmed UK case, and the virus was passed on in France'.

Five staff at the Grenadier pub in Hove have been instructed to self-isolate after he visited for two hours on February 1. A school pupil in the area was also told to self-isolate during the investigation into the man's movements.

A passenger stands at the balcony of the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored off the Yokohama Port in Japan where another 60 cases have been confirmed

British honeymooner Alan Steel, from Wolverhampton, became the second confirmed UK national to be diagnosed with the lethal disease after catching it on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan (pictured with his wife Wendy - the two were on the cruise on their honeymoon)

Alan Steele (pictured right) was separated from his new wife Wendy (pictured left on board the cruise ship) and taken off the Diamond Princess after learning his test results in Yokohama Bay

Two people wearing face masks walk along a a street in Shanghai today as millions of people in China were returning to work after an extended Lunar New Year break

Five Britons who shared the ski chalet with him were diagnosed over the weekend, and hundreds of residents of the picturesque town are now undergoing tests.

Authorities confirmed yesterday that a fourth case of coronavirus in the UK was also linked to the Hove businessman.

In addition, a British father-of-two who stayed in the ski resort tested positive after returning from the French resort to his home in Majorca.

Scientists have dubbed the Brighton businessman a 'super-spreader' because he has passed the infection on to so many people.

Dr Andrew Freedman an infectious diseases expert at Cardiff University said: 'These four new cases are all contacts of the previously confirmed patient who contracted the infection while at a conference in Singapore.

'Along with several others already identified, they became infected while in France. This is not particularly surprising, but it does appear that the index case has passed on the infection to an unusually large number of contacts. As such, he could be termed a "super-spreader".

'This may occur as result of someone being infectious despite having few or no symptoms, meaning they are unaware they have the infection.

'It can also result from someone coming into close contact with an unusually large number of people or someone carrying a larger than normal quantity of the virus.

'However, of the eight cases identified so far in the UK, six are part of the French cluster and the other two are related to each other.

'There is no evidence of wider transmission in the UK and it does appear that the precautions that have been put in place have been very effective so far.'

The five Britons who caught the virus in the Alps include the chalet's owner, environmental consultant Bob Saynor, 48, and his nine-year-old son.

They are in hospital with three other Britons who were staying at the six-bedroom chalet.

Mr Saynor's two other children and four Britons from another family are being kept in isolation at French hospitals as a precaution. His wife Catriona, a doctor, is reportedly in the UK.

The family is understood to have been living in the village for just three months after moving from Hove themselves, despite having bought the property several years ago. Mrs Saynor 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.

Environmental consultant Bob Saynor, 48, and his nine-year-old son have been named locally as being at the centre of the outbreak in the French ski chalet and are being treated in hospital

Mr Saynor's two other children and four Britons from another family are being kept in isolation at French hospitals as a precaution. His wife Catriona, a doctor, is reportedly also infected and being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London

Workers disinfect closed shops in the city of Wuhan at the centre of the outbreak today, where millions of people remain under quarantine

WHAT IS A SUPER SPREADER? Patients infected with the killer Wuhan coronavirus are thought to infect up to 2.6 people, infectious disease specialists estimate. But some patients pass it on to a disproportionately higher number than that. A person's behaviour may contribute to them becoming a super spreader. Someone who travels a lot has a greater chance of becoming one because they come into contact with many people in a number of countries. International businessmen and women are therefore at risk. This appears to be the case with the British businessman who travelled from Singapore to the French Alps and back to the UK. The unnamed middle-aged man is thought to have infected at least 11 people. Another suspected super spreader in the current outbreak is a man believed to have infected 14 workers at a hospital in Wuhan, China. But in other cases it is not always clear why a person can become a super spreader.

Scientists say some people may 'shed' more of the virus into the environment by coughing or sneezing as their immune system tries to get rid of it. Super spreading is not a new phenomenon. In 2012, a Mers-coronavirus patient returned led to 82 people becoming infected after returning from Saudi Arabia to South Korea. Irish cook Mary Mallon (1869-1938) was dubbed 'Typhoid Mary' after passing the disease to 51 people in the US when she had no symptoms.


French officials have closed the 95-pupil primary school attended by the Saynors' nine-year-old son, while a 200-pupil school in nearby Saint-Gervais he attended for one day last week will also be shut.

Elsewhere, 60 more people on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in the port of Yokohama have tested positive for coronavirus, Japan's health minister has said.

There are now 130 confirmed cases on the ship, with officials previously saying 70 people had the virus among the 3,711 passengers and crew.

More than 3,600 people, including 78 British passport holders, are still in a 14-day quarantine on board the ship.

British honeymooner Alan Steele, who was transferred from the cruise liner to hospital in Japan with coronavirus, was said to be feeling well and in good spirits over the weekend.

In the UK, a University of York student and their relative are still being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary infectious diseases centre in Newcastle.

Nearly 100 people died of coronavirus yesterday on the deadliest day of the outbreak so far. The death toll in mainland China rose by 97, taking the number of global fatalities to 910.

Another 3,062 cases were reported in China yesterday - an increase of 15 per cent compared to Saturday which put an end to a series of daily declines.

The latest surge in deaths is a setback to hopes that China's drastic quarantine measures might be working.

The European Union will host an extraordinary meeting of health ministers on Thursday this week, along with a representative form the World Health Organization, to discuss the coronavirus outbreak.

So far, only around 30 cases of the new strain have been detected in Europe but the WHO warns the number of cases outside of China is expected to increase.

'Now is the time to join forces to stop this epidemic,' said European Commissioner Janez Lenarcic.

Last week, German health minister Jens Spahn suggested at a meeting with his French counterpart Agnes Buzyn that Europe stop non-citizens from travelling to the continent after visiting China.

A man is pictured spraying disinfectant on an empty street in Beijing today, February 10

Masked commuters are seen riding a subway train en route to work in Guangzhou, a city in the south of China. People across the country started to return to work today after an extended public holiday

CHEF AT BRIGHTON PUB VISITED BY INFECTED MAN 'FOUND OUT ONLINE' Staff at the pub where Britain's coronavirus 'super spreader' is a drinker are said to be furious with health chiefs and claim they only found out the regular was ill after reading it online. Five workers at The Grenadier in Hove have been instructed to self-isolate for a fortnight after the gas salesman, who is in his fifties, went there for a pint on Saturday February 1. Public Health England told the Grenadier's employees working on the night he popped in to stay at home for two weeks - coronavirus's incubation period - and said they are warning anyone who could be infected. Five staff at the Grenadier pub in Hove have been instructed to self-isolate after he visited for two hours on February 1 But other staff and drinkers there on a busy Saturday evening have claimed they learned of the development on Facebook or via the local paper, the Brighton Argus. 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'. The businessman is at the centre of a web of cases stretching across the UK, France and Spain after he apparently contracted the virus during a four-day trip to Singapore for a sales conference for gas analysis company Servomex. The man in his fifties then jetted from south-east Asia to the Alps to ski in Les Contamines-Montjoie in late January where five more Britons including a nine-year-old boy became infected despite the 'super spreader' not having any cold or flu-like symptoms. Advertisement

The US has already done this, along with Australia and New Zealand. But for it to work in Europe all 27 EU members would have to agree to the decision together because people can fly into one country then move freely between the others in the Schengen passport-free travel zone.

The rise in China's death toll came as millions of people return to work today after an extended Lunar New Year holiday.

Roads in Beijing and Shanghai had significantly more traffic than in recent days and the city of Guangzhou was resuming normal public transport today.

However, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said 60 per cent of its member companies were planning mandatory work-from-home policies.

Businesses abroad have been affected, too – Amazon and Sony today became the latest companies to pull out of Mobile World Congress, scheduled to happen in Barcelona later this month, because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The loss of both companies is another blow to one of the telecom industry's biggest gatherings in Barcelona, which has already seen LG, Ericsson and Nvidia pull out.

The organiser of the event, GSMA, has also banned any visitors from China's Hubei province, of which the capital Wuhan is where the virus originated.

The outbreak also continues to affect the economy – London's FTSE 100 weakened this morning after the UK said the epidemic was a 'serious and imminent threat'.

The drop was consistent with Asian markets, where most indexes were down, after figures showed the coronavirus had killed more than 900 people.

Footballer Dele Alli has apologised to fans for posting a video to Snapchat appearing to mock an Asian man in relation to the coronavirus outbreak.

Alli posted the video on Saturday, where he appeared to film a man of Asian descent, along with the caption 'Corona whatttttt, please listen with ­volume.'

In the original video, Alli could be seen wearing a mask, while also appearing to feign a look of concern on his face.

He then posted an apology video on Chinese social media site Weibo, saying that it's not a subject that should be joked about.

**Do you know the patient who threatened to leave Arrowe Park? Email ed.riley@mailonline.co.uk**