International response to the epidemic
This update was going to be about the evacuation but i decided to expand on this first before continuing with the evacuation efforts.
The morning of 5 May was no different from any other for most people in the world, and that included US President George W Bush, who woke up to the news on TV that there were riots in England, but took little notice, he was preoccupied with preperations for Israeli President Arial Sharons visit in a few days time.
That night however, he did take notice, as his National Security Adviser woke him at 3:00 AM to inform him of a "serious situation" in England.
He met with his cabinet in the White House, just as his counter parts were doing in Downing Street, and tried to piece together whatever information they could, which was very little, and a personal phone call to Tony Blair didnt yield any new information either. The UK government was clueless on what was going on too. The only real information was coming from the British media, which was reporting hundreds of casualties in what eye witnesses were calling "massacres".
Over the next 24 hours as the news broke that the riots were caused by a highly contagious virus that drives its victims into a state of murderous rage, millions of people around the world tuned into their tv's in a state of disbelief.
Some TV stations in the US, Canada and Europe suspended regular programming about four days into the outbreak to cover the escalating carnage engulfing the UK, as viewers couldnt take their eyes away from their tv's, both horrified and fascinated at the situation.
George Bush held a Press Conference on 9 May, five days into the outbreak and promised to help the British people in anyway possible during their hour of need.
Blair took Bush up on his offer two days later and asked the US to protect the Falkland Islands whilst the Royal Navy withdrew to aid in evacuating parts of Britain. Bush complied and dispatched several destroyers and a contengent of Marines to the islands, which did not go down well with Argentina, but they didnt do anything more than make diplomatic protests about that.
British forces in Germany had all been redeployed to the UK by 10 May, and a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan began the next day to allow time for other ISAF forces to replace the British Army.
After the London Stock Exchange permenently closed on 11 May, the economy of several European nations began to suffer. Several airlines went bust with the end of tourism to the UK, which also damaged tourism to Europe in general, as many non Europeans were wary of travel to Europe, in case the virus reached the continent. The massive influx of refugee's caused even more strain on Europe's economy, which began to head for reccession. More than a few fights broke out between refugee's and nationalists of their host countries, who blamed them for taking jobs and ruining the economy, although most people were welcoming and sympathetic, some even fostered or adopted orphaned refugee children.
Countries around the world rushed to evacuate their citizens from Britain, and most embassies were closed and the staff evacuated to their respective countries when it was clear the UK as a nation was doomed.
Media corporations outside the UK made massive viewing figures as people tuned in almost constantly to their TV's, but as the danger to reporters increased, most news teams were pulled out of the UK.
One CNN reporter who was reporting on the evacuation of Bristol was killed by the infected on live TV in front of millions, prompting the few remaining news teams in England to flee the country, mostly back home, or some to Northern Ireland where they could report from relative saftey.
By 12 May, over 100,000 people had arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel, but two days later, the French government sealed the tunnel on their end using concrete and cement, to prevent spread of infection (and refugees for that matter, who were becoming a drain on the national economy).
Still, ferries and other boats travelled almost constantly between southern England and northern France in what some called "Dunkirk in reverse" , rescuing many thousands more refugees from the dying nation.
As London fell, hundreds of barges crammed with desperate refugees sailed down the Thames and out into the sea, some docking in the Netherlands, others in Belgium. A few sunk when they crashed into others in the crowded waterway, with hundreds drowning in the mad dash to escape London by boat.
France and the Republic of Ireland finally decided to begin putting restrictions on ferry access on 20 May, the numbers were now overwhelming and the threat of infection too great, with massive numbers of infected overrunning much of the UK.
The Irish Republic's economy threatened to stagnate with the almost complete collapse in trade with its main trading parter, the United Kingdom. Things were looking increasingly grim for the economic situation in the European Union.
21 May finally saw the United Nations Security Council (absent the British Ambassador to the UN) vote to quarantine the island of Great Britain, and restrict all travel between Britain and the rest of the world. A no fly zone was imposed, as was a naval blockade. A French Air Force Colonel was detained and dishonourably discharged from the military after refusing orders to fire on a airliner fleeing the UK full of civilian refugees. He was greeted as a hero by the French and British people alike for his actions. Similar incidents occured in American, Irish, Norweigan and German military units as they refused to prevent refugees landing.
A communications blackout was imposed on the entire UK by NATO countries on 22 May, and the surviving British media fed rumours of outbreaks in Paris and New York. This was a ploy to prevent more refugees attempting to flee the UK, and it seemed to work. No more international news broadcasts reached the UK after that date, as satelite and other signal jamming went into effect, with the remnants of the UK government in Scotland strongly pressured into supporting this action by the US and EU members.