Coronavirus Outbreak: 324 Indians Aiflifted from China Sent for 'Medical Observation'

New Delhi, February 1, 2020:

324 Indians, who were airlifted from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the coronavirus, and arrived in Delhi Saturday morning, are being taken to Indo-Tibetan Border Police Chhawla camp in Delhi and an army camp at Manesar in Haryana for "medical observation".

Most of the evacuees are from Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and 22 are from Maharashtra. Notably, 211 of the Indian nationals were in Wuhan for higher studies.

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The Indians had been stranded in a city in Hubei province, which is now completely locked down over the outbreak, and the Air India Boeing 747 had reached Wuhan on Friday. However, two Indians -- a man and a woman -- were stopped by Chinese officials from boarding the flight.

After the Indians were evacuated, the Indian embassy had tweeted: "An Air India flight carrying 324 Indian nationals from the coronavirus hit Hubei Province of China took off from Wuhan in the early hours of Feb 1. Majority of the passengers were Indian students. We sincerely thank the Chinese government for facilitating this flight."

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The government had set up a joint team of Airport Health Authority (AHO) and Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for screening the evacuees at the airport. Those suspected of infection will be shifted to an isolation ward at Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment (BHDC).

According to Chinese officials, at least 259 people have died and nearly 11,800 are infected with the coronavirus till Saturday. Meanwhile, the epidemic, which bears many similarity to the SARS, has spread to as many as 20 countries worldwide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday declared the outbreak as an international public health emergency.

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