Britain will charter what it said was a "second and final" flight this weekend to evacuate nationals from China's Hubei province, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak.

The civilian aircraft will leave Hubei's capital Wuhan on Sunday bound for the Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton in southern England.

Medics and Foreign Office officials will be on board to provide support if necessary.

"We have been working round the clock to help British nationals leave Hubei province, on UK, French and New Zealand flights," said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

"The Foreign Office is chartering a second and final UK flight with space to help all British nationals and their dependants remaining in Hubei to leave.

"I encourage all British nationals in Hubei to register with our teams if they want to leave on this flight."

Britain has advised all its nationals in China to leave.

Some 83 British citizens returned from Wuhan on a UK government-chartered flight from Wuhan to Brize Norton on Friday.

They were then sent into 14 days' isolation at a medical facility in northwest England.

So far, there have been two confirmed cases in Britain, two relatives who had recently been to China.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC television that the pair remained in quarantine.

"There are two cases only here in the UK but we do expect more, so we are taking no chances," he added.

Hancock said people returning from China would not be quarantined and should instead "self-isolate" at home and call medics if they show symptoms rather than go to a hospital, for fear of spreading the virus.

Eight British nationals and six of their family members left China on a flight to New Zealand on Tuesday.

More than 24,000 people have been infected in China. The virus has already killed nearly 500 people.

Two more planes evacuate Americans from virus-hit Wuhan
Washington (AFP) Feb 5, 2020 - The United States evacuated more than 300 more people on two new flights out of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the fast-spreading new coronavirus, the State Department said Tuesday.

The two flights left Wuhan on Tuesday US time after the passengers were screened, a State Department official said.

The official said that the United States has now brought home more than 500 passengers on three fights. A first flight, with 195 Americans on board, left Wuhan last week and landed in California.

The United States is preparing one or two additional planes to evacuate Americans on Thursday, after which it does not intend further flights, the official said.

The United States has been placing passengers under mandatory quarantine, the first time that the federal government has taken such a major step since the 1960s.

As stated in a travel advisory issued last week, "US citizens currently in China should attempt to depart by commercial means," the official said.

The United States has offered seats on the government planes as they becomes available, with the US citizens asked to reimburse the government.

Washington declared a public health emergency over the pathogen and has banned the entry of foreign nationals who have travelled to China, where 490 people have died.

Eleven cases of infection have been confirmed in the United States.

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More Chinese cities shut down as virus death toll rises
Hangzhou, China (AFP) Feb 5, 2020
Millions more people have been ordered to stay indoors as China battles to curb the spread of a new virus that authorities said Wednesday has already killed nearly 500 people. With more than 24,000 cases in China, a growing number of cities have been imposing a range of restrictions in recent days far from central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, as authorities struggle to contain the virus. Global concerns have risen as more countries found cases that were not imported from China ... read more