Coronavirus news – live: Outbreak overtakes SARS for confirmed cases as Britons arriving from Wuhan to be quarantined for two weeks

The ongoing lockdown of Hubei province in China may start causing problems for global manufacturing supply chains soon, according to CNBC’s Eunice Yoon.

Hubei Province’s governor has reportedly said that all companies in the province will not resume work until 13 February at the earliest.

German company shuts headquarters over virus outbreak

German auto parts maker Webasto has said it has temporarily shut its headquarters near Munich after four members of its staff were confirmed to have been infected earlier this week.

The infections are believed to have occurred following contact with a Chinese employee from Wuhan who had travelled to Germany to lead a training session.

The company said most of the 1,000 staff at the site in Stockdorf are working from home for the time being.

Webasto has an annual turnover of about 3.4bn euros from the sale of panoramic car roofs and other auto parts, about half of which goes to China.

Additional reporting by AP

Putin urges Russia to be prepared for possible coronavirus outbreak

Russian president Vladimir Putin has urged his country’s government to be prepared for a possible outbreak of coronavirus from China.

“It is a new phenomenon, and the question is how well we are prepared for this challenge,” Mr Putin said during a meeting with cabinet members on Wednesday.

Russia shares a long border with China and has up to 2 million tourists from the country every year.

So far, there have not been any confirmed cases of the virus in Russia.

Source: POOL/AFP via Getty Images 

BREAKING: More than 100 people have now been tested for coronavirus in the UK, with all tests coming back negative, the government has said.

The latest update from the Department of Health & Social Care has said 130 people have been tested and there are currently no confirmed cases of the virus.

Chinese Grand Prix in doubt over coronavirus outbreak

Both Formula One and the FIA are monitoring the outbreak in China and are ready to take action over the Chinese Grand Prix which is scheduled for later this year.

“Following the ongoing developments in China and in light of official advice issued by the Foreign Office we continue to monitor the situation in China closely with the FIA and the promoter on the ground,” an F1 statement said.

If the outbreak continues into the spring, authorities may be forced to cancel the fourth round of the 2020 season, which would normally attract thousands of fans to China.

Our deputy sports editor Jack de Menezes has the full details below:

Matt Hancock to chair Cobra emergency meeting to discuss coronavirus response

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has some new details from the UK government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Health secretary Matt Hancock will chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergencies committee at 4.30pm today.

Downing Street has also said that a commercially chartered jet is to depart Wuhan on Thursday morning (UK time) to bring around 200 British nationals back from the Chinese city.

However, the location where passengers will be quarantined once they arrive in the UK has not been revealed.

There is room on board for all those eligible to return from Wuhan, but Chinese authorities are not allowing dual or single-nationality relatives - such as spouses - to join the flight, No 10 added.

“Our priority is to keep British nationals and their families together and we have urgently raised this with the Chinese authorities, including the foreign secretary speaking to his Chinese counterpart yesterday,” a Downing Street source said.

“It is Chinese policy that those with Chinese dual or single nationality can't leave Wuhan through an assisted flight.”

Here is another piece of commentary on the UK government’s decision to quarantine British nationals returning from Wuhan – this time from Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham.

Professor Ball has said more Britons located in Hubei Province may need to be brought home due to the outbreak, which could become “unmanageable” for health authorities.

“Given the level of coronavirus infection, it makes sense to quarantine and test people being evacuated form Wuhan City,” he said.

“But we might lose sight of the fact that the outbreak seems more widespread than that and at some time, probably soon, a decision will have to be made about all Britons located in Hubei Province and China in general, especially if the virus outbreak continues to escalate.

“Given the level of coronavirus infection, it makes sense to quarantine and test people being evacuated form Wuhan City. If these people also need to be brought back, then the task in hand would probably become unmanageable.”

World Health Organisation to consider declaring coronavirus an international emergency.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been criticised after refusing to announce a global Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), instead maintaining the disease is primarily a Chinese problem.

However now the WHO's emergency committee has announced it will reconvene on Thursday to decide whether to declare such a state of emergency.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted: "I have decided to reconvene the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) tomorrow to advise me on whether the current outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern."

Under the body's rules a PEHIC is announced in cases of “an extraordinary event which is determined … to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease”, and is accompanied by increased international support while making money more readily available.

201 evacuated Americans arrive in California

A plane evacuating 201 Americans from the Chinese city at the center of the virus outbreak has arrived in Southern California.

The jet landed Wednesday morning at March Air Reserve Base east of Los Angeles after all passengers passed health screenings during a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

The passengers will undergo additional screenings in California and be placed in temporary housing. Officials have not said how long they will stay there.

Finland confirms first coronavirus case

Finland has confirmed its first coronavirus case, affecting a Chinese traveller from Wuhan, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said.

The traveller remains in isolation in Lapland's central hospital in northern Finland, while some 15 other people may have been exposed. Their condition is being observed by officials

On Tuesday, national carrier Finnair became the first European airline to cancel flights to mainland China, after suspending its routes to Nanjing and Beijing's Daxing airport until the end of March.