Coronavirus fears fail to dampen London Chinese New Year 2020 celebrations

Thousands of revellers, including many from China, celebrated Chinese New Year in central London despite worries about coronavirus spreading to the UK.

Many people welcoming the Year of the Rat in the biggest celebration for the lunar festival outside China were wearing filter masks to protect themselves against the respiratory virus.

But coronavirus worries did not dampen festivities, as a 50-foot golden dragon and a bagpipe procession travelled from Charing Cross to Chinatown where hundreds of red lanterns lined the streets.

Outside restaurants and cafes in Chinatown, people were queuing down the street, and many gathered to watch firecrackers heralding the start of the celebrations in Trafalgar Square.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has urged Britons trapped in the Hubei province of China, which has been on lockdown for several days following the coronavirus outbreak, to leave the area if they are able to.

Chinese student Siyan Li, from Shandong, was wearing a face mask as she celebrated in Chinatown because she was "afraid" of the virus.

The 22-year-old Nottingham University student said: "China has advised everyone to stay at home and not come out. I'm afraid.

"I don't know if there are many people with this kind of fear, but I think this (the mask) is a good way to protect myself."

Conan Zhao, 35, and his wife Daisy Huang, 27, were holidaying in London for Chinese new year and were also wearing masks as "a precaution".

Mr Zhao, from Shenzhen in China, said: "The most important thing is self-protection - you need to protect yourself, but there is no need to worry."

He added: "We came here for Chinese new year, and it's our first time in London.

"Chinese people have come to London for a very long time and we wanted to see how people celebrate Chinese new year here."

Lily Ferreira and Katerina Jelinkova, two volunteers helping to manage the festivities for the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA), said they were worried about the effect of the virus on their performers from China.