Coronavirus: The Yorkshireman stranded in Asia gives LBC another joyful update
17 February 2020, 16:20 | Updated: 24 February 2020, 07:22
The Yorkshireman who was stuck in lockdown in China due to the coronavirus has now arrived in Thailand - and has given James O'Brien yet another hilarious update on his situation.
Luke won the hearts of LBC listeners with his hilarious take on being stranded in China because of the deadly supervirus.
James spoke to him for the third time - and it was as joyous as the last two weeks.
Last week, he revealed that things were getting worse, with people blocking the entrances to their flats with mattresses to keep everyone else out.
At the time he said he was hoping to escape the country, having booked flights to Thailand. But he had no idea whether he would be able to get out - or if he'll be kept in quarantine when he got there.
Speaking to James today - but via a video call this time, he confirmed that he made it safely to Thailand, but was tracked down by Chinese authorities. He also gleefully revealed he was back on dating app Grindr.
Updating James, Luke said: "Well, here we go then, so basically Chinese grandma dropped me off at the airport, didn't she."
He added: "Then it began, basically, I went into the airport and it was just so extreme you know everyone wearing the masks? I don't know. It just felt like like the most intense thing ever.'
Luke was staying in Nantong, China not Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began, so he had not known the scale of the outbreak until he was at the airport.
After complaining that his hand gel was confiscated by airport security, he revealed he was contacted by the Chinese government when he was in Thailand.
Referring to the call from the police officer, he said: "So he's like, 'basically somebody that you shared the Chinese Uber with, has got a fever."
Luke explained that the authorities told him that the person was not diagnosed, leaving Luke to describe the call as "extreme" and "setting off paranoia off again."
James asked: "You didn't have a fever and you weren't sneezing or anything like that?"
Luke admitted that he misses China already and would love to return, but said that things are looking up as he was back on Grindr now that he was in Thailand.
"So that's a success," he elaborated before saying: "So you know, remember, we're could not kiss in Nantong could we?"
At the end of call James said: "Bess you. What a force for good. It's funny, isn't it. The darker the cloud, the shinier the silver lining."
