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

Chinese tourists wearing protective masks wait in line at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand: EPA
Chinese tourists wearing protective masks wait in line at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand: EPA

Japan and the US have airlifted hundreds of their citizens from the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose again to 132.

Confirmed cases of the virus also rose sharply to nearly 6,000 on Wednesday morning, overtaking the 5,327 confirmed cases of SARS during the 2002-2003 outbreak which killed more than 750 people in 17 countries worldwide.

The evacuations came as the UK government worked to finalise plans overnight to bring Britons back from Wuhan, with flights back to the UK potentially taking place as early as Thursday.

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