Countries around the world are planning to evacuate diplomatic staff and private citizens from Chinese areas hit by the new coronavirus, which is spreading quickly.Wuhan, a city of 11 million people in the Chinese province of Hubei, is the epicentre of the outbreak. Wuhan is in virtual lockdown and much of Hubei, home to nearly 60 million people, is
under some kind of travel curb.
Following are some countries’ evacuation plans, and how they are planning to manage the health risk from those who are returning.
* France expects to repatriate up to a few hundred of its 800 citizens living in the Wuhan area. Evacuees will have to spend 14 days in quarantine to avoid spreading the virus in France.
* Japan is expected to arrange charter flights as early as Tuesday for any of its citizens who wish to return from Wuhan, two sources familiar with the matter said. Foreign Minister
Toshimitsu Motegi said about 430 Japanese nationals have been confirmed to be in Hubei province.
* Spain’s government is working with China and the European Union to repatriate Spanish nationals from the Wuhan area, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said.
* The U.S. State Department said it will evacuate personnel from its Wuhan consulate to the United States and will offer a limited number of seats to private U.S. citizens on a flight.
Some private citizens will be able to board the “single flight” leaving Wuhan on Jan. 28 bound for San Francisco, it said.
* Britain is talking to international partners to find solutions to help British and other foreign nationals leave Wuhan, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
* Russia has been in talks with China about evacuating its nationals from Wuhan and Hubei province, Russia’s Embassy in China said.
* The Dutch government is assessing ways to evacuate 20 Dutch citizens from Wuhan, press agency ANP reported.
* Authorities in Myanmar said they had cancelled a planned evacuation of 60 students from Mandalay who were studying in Wuhan. Kyaw Yin Myint, a spokesman for the Mandalay municipal government, told Reuters that a “final decision” had been made to send them back after 14 days, once the virus’ incubation period had passed.
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