Coaches that took passengers from China evacuation flight to be ‘deep cleaned’

Victoria Bell
Updated ·4 min read
Coaches leave Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, carrying passengers from a plane which transported British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China. (PA)
Coaches leave Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, carrying passengers from a plane which transported British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China. (PA)

The coach company that collected 110 passengers arriving on the evacuation flight out of coronavirus-hit China said its vehicles will be “deep cleaned”.

At least seven coaches from Horseman Coaches Ltd were seen arriving at the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire at around 10am carrying 83 Britons and 27 foreign nationals, mostly from EU countries, who were trapped in Wuhan.

The drivers had agreed to take the job, a spokesman for the bus company said, and will be given paid leave to “remain at home for the next 10 days”.

The vehicles will also be removed from service for a minimum of 10 days after they are cleaned.

After several delays, the evacuation flight left Wuhan at 9.45am local time on Friday.

At least seven coaches from Horseman Coaches Ltd were seen arriving at the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire at around 10am. (PA)
At least seven coaches from Horseman Coaches Ltd were seen arriving at the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire at around 10am. Here, the driver is pictured with a man in a hazmat suit. (PA)

The UK passengers were taken on the coaches to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral and will be quarantined for two weeks.

The Horseman Coaches spokesman said: “The Department for Health have procedures in place for the vehicles to be deep cleaned.

“That is part of the process of this undertaking, which will happen as soon as the vehicles are clear.”

He added: “I can give everybody assurance that everything will be cleansed sufficiently.”

The British passengers on the evacuation flight – who have mainly been in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province – had to sign a contract agreeing to isolation before they could board the flight, and underwent temperature checks.

Buses carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, travelling along the M6 motorway on their way to Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside. The passengers arrived by plane to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire before being transported to the hospital site on the Wirrall where they are set to be quarantined. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)
Police escorts drive alongside buses along the M6 motorway on their way to Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside. (PA/Getty)
BRIZE NORTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: A man in protective clothing sits behind the driver in one of the coaches transporting eighty-three Britons and 27 foreign nationals who have been evacuated from Wuhan following a Coronavirus outbreak, from RAF Brize Norton to Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside, where they will be quarantined, on January 31, 2020 in Brize Norton, England. Two people in the same family have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus in the UK, which has killed at least 213 people in China. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
A man in protective clothing sits behind the driver in one of the coaches transporting eighty-three Britons and 27 foreign nationals who have been evacuated from Wuhan following a Coronavirus outbreak (Getty)

On arrival, they boarded the coaches and faced the more than three-hour drive to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral for a quarantine period of 14 days, where they will be housed in an NHS staff accommodation block with access to the internet.

The Horseman Coaches spokesman declined to comment on whether or not the drivers – staff members of Horseman Coaches – would also have to be put in isolation, but this was later clarified.

A statement on the company’s Facebook page said they were contacted by the British Government on Thursday afternoon, adding: “The Department for Health England have very specific procedures regarding the repatriation of these British citizens and the cleansing of vehicles using military grade cleansing equipment and the debriefing of the staff involved.

BRIZE NORTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: In this handout photo provided by UK Crown copyright, a plane carrying eighty-three Britons and 27 foreign nationals who were trapped in Wuhan following a Coronavirus outbreak lands at RAF Brize Norton from China on January 31, 2020 in Brize Norton, England. Two people in the same family have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus in the UK, which has killed at least 213 people in China. (Photo by UK Crown copyright 2020 via Getty Images)
The Wamos air-operated flight landed in the UK on Friday. (Getty)

“We have received suitable guarantees from British Government departments regarding the safety of our continued operation.

“Rest assured that Horseman Coaches would not have entered into such a contract without the necessary safety guarantees in place.

“As an extra precaution Horseman Coaches have decided to take, the drivers involved will take paid leave and remain at home for the next 10 days, and likewise after the cleansing of the vehicles, the vehicles will be removed from service for a minimum of 10 days.”

Asked more about the drivers, the spokesman said: “Every driver was given the choice whether to undertake the hire or not, and every single one of them opted to do the hire. It was something they wanted to do.”

READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS

Coronavirus: How Fast to 100,000 Infected?

What are the symptoms of the coronavirus?

Human-to-human transmission confirmed in China coronavirus

Horseman Coaches is a private coach hire company operating throughout Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Slough, West Berkshire and across the south east carrying more than 9,000 passengers each day, according to the company’s website.

The website says the company, which has a fleet of 60 coaches, was named UK Coach Operator of the Year 2019.