As coronavirus scare spreads, Centre starts process to evacuate Indians from China

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday (January 28) confirmed that India has started the process to prepare for the evacuation of Indian nationals affected by the situation arising out of coronavirus outbreak in some parts of China.

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Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday (January 28) confirmed 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.

⚠️ #CoronaVirusOutbreak Update

We have begun the process to prepare for evacuation of Indian nationals affected by the situation arising out of nCorona-2019 virus outbreak in Hubei Province, China. (1/2) — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 28, 2020

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.

Our @EOIBeijing is working out the logistics & is in touch with the Chinese govt. authorities & our nationals on this matter. We will continue to share updates. (2/2) — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 28, 2020

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that Indian government is in contact with the Chinese government and efforts are being made to evacuate people, most of whom are students, from Wuhan city by sending a plane. Jaishankar assured that very soon all Indians will be evacuated from China.

"Our Embassy is in contact with the Chinese government. We are trying to evacuate people, most of whom are students, from Wuhan city by sending a plane. Efforts are on, I can assure you that Govt of India is working on it and very soon some solution will be found," Jaishankar told ANI.

Notably, 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.

Till January 26, 29,707 passengers arriving in India in 137 flights have been screened for novel coronavirus infection symptoms and no case has so far been detected in India, PTI quoted an official saying. 

Meanwhile, Wuhan and 12 other cities have been completely sealed by the Chinese authorities 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.