File photo shows that an Airbus A350-1000 performs during a flight display at the 53rd International Paris Air Show held at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 20, 2019.  Photo: Xinhua

Flight tickets from the UK to China are hard to come by and fares have doubled because of rising fears and panic after reports that the British government would adopt a "herd immunity" strategy to treat COVID-19.

On several online ticket booking platforms, no direct flight from the UK to China was left on Sunday, and no direct flights were available until April 6. The most expensive ticket from London to Shanghai rose to more than 58,000 yuan ($8,275.4). The duration lasts from 15 hours to 60 hours for a 9-hour trip involving a direct flight.

Prices of flights from other parts of the UK to China also soared two to three times compared with just days ago. The cheapest ticket from Manchester to Beijing was 17,307 yuan on trip.com, triple the previous price, with two transfers and a duration of more than 40 hours.

An industry insider, who asked not to be named, said that soaring ticket prices and the difficulty of getting a direct flight shows the panic of people living in the UK, especially Chinese and Chinese descendants, to escape from the UK to rush back to China, which could come up with more effective prevention and treatment to cope with the coronavirus.

"The increasing number of imported cases of COVID-19 has put great pressure on China to contain the contagion. China must take more resolute measures to contain the risk of the deadly virus spreading again without consuming too much public resources," Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin wrote on Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Sunday.

"I suggest that from now on, all the people entering China from Europe, America, Australia, South Korea, Japan and the Middle East should take the measures of centralized inspection and isolation after entry, and all expenses during the period of isolation should be borne by the quarantined. The same should be applied to those who have visited those areas within 14 days," wrote Hu.

Ellen Xu, who went to the UK 30 years ago and worked for a veterinary institution in London, now a naturalized British citizen, told the Global Times on Sunday that medical resources are tight in the UK. 

"In the face of this explosive and highly contagious disease, the UK cannot afford medical resources for so many people falling ill suddenly," Xu added, saying she is hesitant to go back to China because of the long flight duration, which raises the risk of contracting coronavirus.

A top medical expert related with the UK government, Sir Patrick Vallance said Friday that 60 percent of Britain's 66.4 million people to be infected with the novel coronavirus to develop "herd immunity" and prevent it from becoming an annual health crisis.