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China approves Centre’s request to evacuate Indians out of coronavirus-hit Wuhan


Mangalore Today News Network

Bejing, Jan 28, 2020: China on Tuesday (January 28) approved Centre’s request to fly Indians out of Wuhan City, which has been worst affected by the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Sources told Zee Media Air India plane will soon head to China soon to evacuate the Indians from Wuhan City and other parts of China.

On Monday (January 27), Air India had said that a Boeing 747 has been kept on standby for the evacuation of Indians from Wuhan and the aircraft is waiting for the Centre`s decision regarding the evacuation."Air India Boeing 747 is on standby for the evacuation of Indians from Wuhan (China) due to scare of Coronavirus. Carrier is waiting for the government the decision," an Air Indian official told ANI on Monday.

 

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Earlier on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had made a formal request to China for the evacuation of Indians from Wuhan City. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said that India has started the process to prepare for the evacuation of Indian nationals affected by the situation arising out of coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan City, which is located in Hubei Province of China.

"We have begun the process to prepare for the evacuation of Indian nationals affected by the situation arising out of nCorona-2019 virus outbreak in Hubei Province, China." tweeted MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

Kumar also added that Indian Embassy in Beijing is working out the logistics and is in touch with the Chinese authorities and Indians who are still in China. "Our @EOIBeijing is working out the logistics and is in touch with the Chinese government authorities and our nationals on this matter. We will continue to share updates," Kumar noted.

It is to be noted that no case of coronavirus infection has been detected in India so far but around 450 people have been kept under observation in the country, most of them in Kerala, following screening for possible exposure to the deadly virus. Some, who have returned from China in recent weeks, have approached medical authorities as a precautionary step.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have put Wuhan and 12 other cities under complete lockdown to stop the virus from spreading. The death toll in China due to coronavirus has climbed to 106 with 4,515 confirmed cases. According to the World Health Organisation, the common symptoms of the virus strain include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.