Coronavirus: 324 Indians evacuated from China; 6 left behind
Early Saturday morning, a special Air India flight flew 324 Indians to Delhi from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The Boeing 747 Jumbo aircraft landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi at 7:26 am. The evacuees will now undergo a 14-day quarantine in the national capital. Here are more details.
Six passengers offloaded from flight; had high temperatures
According to ANI, the special Air India aircraft reached Wuhan's Tianhe International Airport in the early hours of Saturday. Reportedly, the flight was delayed on its return journey as six Indians had to be offloaded. A passenger told ANI, "Six passengers were offloaded as they had high temperatures." Among the 324 evacuated are three minors and 211 students.
Special flight had team of doctors, all necessary resources onboard
The Boeing aircraft had left for Wuhan on Friday with a team of doctors, 20 crew members, and one paramedical staff. The flight also had all the necessary resources such as masks, medical equipment, packed food, prescribed medicines.
Evacuees to be quarantined at ITBP's Chhawla camp in Delhi
The evacuees will be screened at a screening camp established at the IGI Airport. Thereafter, they will undergo a 14-day quarantine at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) center in Chhawla. Another quarantine camp has been established at Manesar and is being managed by Armed Forces Medical Services. The Ministry of External Affairs, Health Ministry and the Army will reportedly make arrangements for the passengers.
Indian Embassy in Beijing to evacuate remaining Indians
The Indian Embassy in Beijing now plans to evacuate the remaining Indian nationals in the Hubei province, home to Wuhan. The embassy tweeted, "We urge all Indian citizens from Hubei who intend to avail this flight for India and not yet contacted the Embassy, to urgently call the hotlines (+8618610952903 and +8618612083629) or dedicated email ID helpdesk.beijing@mea.gov.in before 0800 hours on February 1, 2020."
What is the coronavirus outbreak?
First detected in mid-December in Wuhan, the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or "Wuhan Coronavirus" has infected over 11,000 people worldwide, with 99% cases witnessed in China alone. The virus impacts a host's respiratory faculties causing flu-like symptoms and in severe cases, pneumonia, multiple organ failure, and death. The viral infection has killed 259 people, all in China.
