A BRIT trapped in the centre of the coronavirus outbreak has told of his heart-wrenching decision at having to leave his wife behind – as rescue flights finally start tomorrow to bring people back from Wuhan.
Jeff Siddle, 54, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, travelled to the Hubei province with wife Sindy, 42, and their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine to spend Chinese New Year with her family in the village of Hongtu.
But the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has told Jeff that since Sindy has a Chinese passport, she will not be allowed to board the plane evacuating British nationals from Wuhan – even though she has held a visa for permanent residency in the UK since 2008.
IT software developer Jeff, 54, was forced to make the agonising choice between getting their young daughter out of the outbreak's epicentre, or keeping his family together.
He said: "My head is spinning. It's just horrendous.
"This ordeal just turned into our worst nightmare. How can they put a family in this position? Having to leave Sindy in China would be the worst thing that anyone could be put through.
"How am I going to tell Jasmine that her mum has to stay behind?"
Source: Read Full Article
