British Man Who Fled Wuhan Says He Wishes He Had Never Left China

A British man who fled from China at the start of the coronavirus outbreak says he wishes he'd stayed put overseas.

Matt Raw left Wuhan in January this year, boarding a repatriation flight back to UK, before spending two weeks in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside.

Leaving quarantine, he cried 'we're free', but the 38-year-old now says that despite escaping the epicentre of the virus, with life seeming to be slowly returning to normal back in China he regrets leaving.

Speaking about his experience of lockdown back in Knutsford, Cheshire, Matt said: "We should never have left China.

"We made the decision to come back over here because there was a killer virus running loose around Wuhan.

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"At the time, coronavirus was not in England - I think the first case was while we were in quarantine in Arrowe Park, and I thought, 'they have seen what happened in China, they will jump on this straight away'. They did nothing."

Matt arrived back in the UK on 31 January, along with his wife, Ying, 38, and his mother, Hazel, 75, who suffers with dementia.

Prior to their departure for the UK, Matt was in such a desperate bid to escape China he abandoned his Jeep at the airport.

And just a few months on, he says things are starting to return to normal back in Wuhan, though precautions are still being taken to make sure people are safe.

He said: "They're out of lockdown, it looks like they've got control of the situation.

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"Ying's brother has his own business and, as far as I understand, they are all back at work now, but they're still being sensible, taking precautions and not going out unnecessarily."

Matt says his wife is currently applying for a visa so that she doesn't have to return to China until a vaccine has been found, but with the process being delayed, they are concerned she could have to return next month.

However, despite the uncertainty, Matt heaped praise on his neighbours for coming together and keeping each other safe.

Adding: "That's really what makes it all very, very bearable indeed. We know what we've got to do now, we need to stay inside and it's not going to be forever.

"I would rather be in quarantine over here than in China, but I think, very definitely, that coming back here was a mistake.

"We've made our bed so we just have to put on a happy face and lie in it now."

Topics: World News, UK News, Interesting, Coronavirus, Health

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom