LONDON 

Britain on Wednesday warned all of its citizens against travel to China’s Wuhan city due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“In light of the latest medical information, including reports of some person-to-person transmission, and the Chinese authorities’ own advice, we are now advising against all but essential travel to Wuhan,” British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement.

The statement said “the safety and security of British nationals is always our primary concern, and we advise British nationals travelling to China to remain vigilant and check our travel advice.”

The FCO earlier updated the travel advise on its webpage and advised British citizens “against all but essential travel to Wuhan city, Hubei Province. This is due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak.”

The Public Health England earlier made a statement on the issue and said they have stepped up measures at London Heathrow Airport where three planes from Wuhan arrive every week.

A statement said from today (Wednesday), “enhanced monitoring will be in place from all direct flights from Wuhan to the UK.”

“The enhanced monitoring package includes a number of measures that will help to provide advice to travellers if they feel unwell,” the statement said.

Health officials in China said nine fatalities were recorded in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, where the fatal virus originated last month.

A total of 440 people were confirmed infected inside the country, officials added.

The virus spread to major cities including the capital Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, besides other smaller towns where it found 166 such cases.

Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the U.S. have confirmed to have found cases of the same virus in their respective countries. Australia is also examining a person for the same virus.

North Korea has temporarily shut down its borders with China as a precaution after the outbreak of the virus, according to Yonhap news agency.

With the coronavirus raising alarm across the globe, the WHO will hold an emergency meeting in Geneva on Wednesday.