Coronavirus Update

Coronavirus Update from Visit York
 

Following consultation with our partners at VisitBritain please find below an update on the Wuhan novel coronavirus and its effects for tourism businesses.

Situation update 17th February 2020

• There are currently nine confirmed cases of people with coronavirus in England. The government is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community. 
• The UK Government introduced new regulations (10 February) to delay or prevent further transmission of coronavirus. The regulations have been put in place to reduce the risk of further human-to-human transmission in the UK by keeping individuals in isolation where public health professionals believe there is a reasonable risk an individual may have the virus. The risk to individuals remains low.
• Health protection teams have been in place at Heathrow since 22nd January and in Gatwick and Manchester since 29th January
• Chinese authorities have ordered all their national travel agencies and online travel companies to temporarily suspend business, group travel and ‘ticket and hotel’ products effective immediately.
• Enhanced monitoring was extended on Saturday 8 February at Heathrow to cover direct flights from Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. There are no direct flights from Macau. The extension of enhanced monitoring to flights from Singapore to Manchester came into effect on 10 February.
• Businesses are encouraged to offer free cancellations for any bookings for Chinese visitors travelling from China until restrictions are lifted. However, businesses should follow their own policies relating to cancellations for any domestic or other international bookings related to this situation if they feel this is appropriate.
• If you are starting to receive cancellations related to the coronavirus please do feed this back to us via this brief survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/York-Covid-19 or email membership@makeityork.com. We will then pass this intelligence onto the local, regional and national level. Importantly, this means that we can inform VisitBritain and DCMS so they can continue to feed in tourism concerns to Government.

York-Specific Advice

Sharon Stoltz, Director of Public Health, City of York Council:

“Robust infection control measures are in place in York and we are working closely with Public Health England, the Department for Health and Social Care and partners across the city.
The risk to individuals living and working in York is low and the city remains very much open to residents, visitors and students.”

Stonegate Medical Clinic: Private GP Service York

With the recently confirmed case of “coronavirus” being identified in York, we as a clinic frequently see and treat international visitors as they are not able to access routine NHS services. As a result we have implemented some additional protocols to safeguard our patients and members of the general public. 

Any patients wishing to access our private doctors service are being asked to contact the clinic either via phone: 01904 631815 or via email: enquiries@stonegatemedical.co.uk rather than visit the clinic. 

DO NOT ADVISE PATIENTS TO VISIT THE CLINIC BEFORE CONTACTING US VIA PHONE OR EMAIL FIRST

Due to common colds and viruses being rife this time of year and the risk level currently at low, we are in some cases providing initial telephone consultations as a safeguard. 

GP Practices & A&E units are not equipped to deal with any suspected “Coronavirus” linked illnesses and are advising for the suspected patients to stay in their accommodation and contact 111. 

We ask that you respect our protocols and advice given in the interests of public health.

https://www.stonegatemedical.co.uk/services/coronavirus-latest-information-and-advice/

Updated advice for travellers from and to China as of 5 February 2020

• From 28 January, Public Health England are asking anyone in the UK who has returned from Wuhan in the last 14 days to self-isolate. Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people – and to contact NHS 111. If you are in Northern Ireland, you should phone your GP.
• Public Health England are also asking people to follow this advice even if they do not have symptoms of the virus.
• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are advising against all travel to Hubei Province, and against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China. They further advised British nationals in China to leave, if they are able to do so.

What this means in practice

• People are asked to take simple, common-sense steps to avoid close contact with other people as much as possible, like they would with other flu viruses.
• This means remaining isolated for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan and not going into public areas.
• Where possible, you should avoid having visitors to your home, but it’s ok for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food
• Transport - you should not use public transport or taxis until 14 days after your return from Wuhan.

Tourism business update:

With the Chinese authorities suspending outbound travel, the Foreign Office advising against all but essential travel and BA subsequently cancelling flights there is an obvious and immediate knock-on impact for the tourism industry, and VisitBritain are working closely with their team in China and across government and industry to monitor and assess the situation.

The extent of the impact on the industry depends on the length of the suspension of travel. It is currently low season for trips from China to the UK, with only about 15% of holiday trips taking place from January to March.

We would hope for a subsequent surge in bookings when the suspension is over. Although the impact of SARS was significant in 2002-3 the recovery was robust within months.

• Chinese authorities have ordered all their national travel agencies and online travel companies to temporarily suspend business, leisure, group travel and ‘ticket and hotel’ products effective immediately. Whilst individual travel has not been mentioned specifically, the authorities are keen to ensure that the disease is contained.
• The Chinese Government are asking travel companies, operators and tourism businesses around the world to facilitate booking changes and cancellations to help reduce the movement of crowds and reduce the spread of the virus. At the moment the Chinese Government are not offering any compensation to cancelled groups.

This is a fast-moving situation and the best source of information for any visitors with individual questions or concerns is Public Health England.

Visitors can keep up to date with the latest advice from the UK Government’s website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-and-avian-flu-advice-for-travel-to-china and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public#advice-for-travellers-from-wuhan – this page is being updated daily at 2pm until further notice.

Keep Us Updated

There are anecdotal reports of cancellations across the UK and there is an awareness that other markets may begin to become more wary of travelling if the situation escalates. With this in mind, both we and VisitEngland/VisitBritain would be grateful if you keep us updated on the impact on your business.

If you are starting to receive cancellations related to the coronavirus please do feed this back to us via this brief survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/York-Covid-19 or email membership@makeityork.com. We will then pass this intelligence onto the local, regional and national level. Importantly, this means that we can inform VisitBritain and DCMS so they can continue to feed in tourism concerns to Government.