Coronavirus outbreak: Process for evacuating Indians from China's Hubei province on, says MEA

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday said that the Indian embassy in China has begun the process for the evacuation of Indian citizens stranded in Hubei Province which is said to be most affected by the coronavirus outbreak. ''The embassy is working hard to ensure smooth evacuation of our citizens from Hubei Province. We are already in touch with many sections of the Indian Community in Hubei, including our students,'' the Indian embassy in Beijing said.

The Indian embassy also made ''an appeal to the Indian citizens from Hubei who have not yet contacted them to do so urgently on the hotline numbers (+8618610952903, +8618612083629, +8618612083617) or dedicated email ID helpdesk.beijing@mea.gov.in.''

The Indian Embassy in Beijing, which is coordinating the efforts of the evacuation of the Indian nationals, also circulated registration forms and consent notes for the Indians in Wuhan and Hubei province to be filled by them. The embassy has reportedly compiled a list of Indians to be flown out. According to reports, there are over 250 Indian nationals, mostly students and professionals, who need to be evacuated from the Hubei province.

The embassy further informed the stranded Indians that upon their arrival in India they need to undergo a 14-day quarantine in a designated city, the name of it which has not yet been revealed. The quarantine is necessary as experts say the incubation period of the new virus was on average three to seven days, with the longest being 14 days.

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Meanwhile, the Centre has also requested the Chinese government for permission to operate two flights to bring back its nationals from Hubei Province. Reports also said that an Air India 747 Boeing has been kept ready to fly them back to India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also separately said that the government has begun preparations for the evacuation of its nationals affected by the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

While the government has started the process to airlift its citizens from Wuhan - the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak - China on Wednesday said that it would make all appropriate arrangements and provide necessary assistance if any country "insists" on evacuating its nationals.

Besides India, several other countries including the US, France, Japan, South Korea, are making arrangements to airlift their nationals from central Hubei province and its capital city Wuhan. The deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in China with 25 new fatalities reported from Hubei province, taking the death toll to 132 and the confirmed infection cases to nearly 6,000.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, which is coordinating the evacuation of the foreign nationals, said that it would make appropriate arrangements if any country "insists" on evacuating its nationals. "China attaches great importance to protecting the lives and health of citizens of all countries in Wuhan, Hubei province, and will continue to take active and effective measures to address their legitimate concerns and demands in a timely manner," its Foreign Ministry said in response to a question.

"If a country insists on evacuating its citizens in Wuhan, China will make appropriate arrangements and provide necessary assistance and convenience in accordance with international practice and China's relevant provisions on epidemic prevention," the Ministry said.

A large number of foreign nationals from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh from the neighbourhood besides African countries were reportedly stranded in Hubei province. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the UN health body "does not recommend the evacuation" of foreign nationals from virus-hit Hubei province as he called on the international community to remain calm.