Bosch has cancelled or postponed all travel to and from China until the end of February as the UK confirmed its first coronavirus cases have reached the Western end of Europe.

England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty today (31 January) announced the first two coronavirus cases in the country, following last night's declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of a public health emergency of international concern.

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Bosch has now shut down all its plants in China as the number of fatalities from the outbreak reached 213 as of midnight, 30 January, with 4,812 new cases also reported on the same day according to State-run agency reports published by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China.

"The health and safety of our associates are our number-one priority," said a Bosch statement sent to just-auto from Germany. "An interdisciplinary team of experts are constantly monitoring and evaluating the situation and also liaising with authorities outside the company.

"We are also in close contact with our associates in China and using our in-company networks and an internal hotline to keep associates constantly up to date with precautionary measures, travel advice and WHO recommendations. All business trips to and from China must be cancelled or postponed for the time being (until the end of February).

"A consultation with the responsible Bosch medical service must also take place before the trip. Operations at all Bosch's locations in China have currently been shut down  as a result of government directives – most of them through 9 February depending on region."

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Suppliers and OEMs in the virus epicentre of Wuhan are potentially looking to extend the current Chinese New Year holiday even beyond the already-imposed extra days by Beijing to 2 February in a bid to control the virus' spread.

Tens of millions of Chinese people are on effective lock-down, while authorities have also sent many thousands of medical staff to Hubei to assist what the WHO now acknowledges is a public health emergency.