France ponders repatriating citizens from Wuhan amid virus

French government was meeting Sunday to decide wher to repatriate some 800 French citizens who are living in Chinese city of Wuhan, epicenter of a dely virus. Officials will make “decisions on methods and how we might do that” at garing later Sunday called by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told LCI TV. It would be joining or countries planning for evacuations from Wuhan, which is under lockdown by Chinese government in an attempt to halt spre of pneumonia-like virus that has killed 56 people and infected nearly 2,000 people.

French hospitals are treating confirmed cases 

U.S. Consulate in Wuhan anunced it will evacuate its personnel and some private citizens aboard a charter flight on Tuesday. French hospitals are treating three confirmed cases of new coronavirus and more are likely, officials said. confirmed cases are all Chinese citizens who recently returned from travels re. French automaker PSA said Saturday it was evacuating its expatriate employees and ir families from Wuhan and quarantining m in ar city. It did t elaborate.

French medical teams on Sunday began meeting passengers arriving on flights from China at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and or airports, a new effort to catch possible cases early on. France has decided t to take temperatures of arriving passengers because it “provides a false sense of safety,” health minister said. She said in each of France’s three confirmed cases, y arrived without a fever. Buzyn said re was reason for France’s general public to go outside with masks.

She also said a decision to cancel a Chinese New Year’s fete in Paris, which has a large Chinese population, was t based on a medical decision. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said city’s Chinese residents were simply t in mood for a party, given spre of virus. Chinese community in Rome said re won’t be any public celebrations of Lunar New Year on Feb. 2 eir for same reason.

Re: Motorists In Wuhan Defy Virus Threat To Transport Sick People To Hospital

(Im credit: AP)