Published 09:59 IST, February 2nd 2020
Second Air India evacuation flight carries 323 Indians & 7 Maldivians from epicenter Wuhan
Second Air India flight carrying 323 Indian citizens had taken off in the intervening night of February 1 and 2 in the wake of the novel Coronavirus outbreak
The second Air India flight carrying 323 Indian citizens had taken off in the intervening night of February 1 and 2 in the wake of the novel Coronavirus outbreak which has killed over 300 people in China as per the latest reports with the number of people infected crossing 14,000 across the country. Besides Indian citizens, the second evacuation flight accommodated seven Maldivian citizens as well. Taking to Twitter, Indian ambassador to China, Vikram Misri thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their assistance.
Indian Government started evacuating the Indian citizens from China with its first Air Inda flight bringing back 324 citizens on Saturday. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Turkey, Germany also evacuated its citizens on Saturday. Multiple countries across the world have not only started evacuating it's citizens from the country but have also started imposing travel restrictions for Chinese nationals and those coming from the country. Countries such as Russia, Australia and the US have imposed a travel ban and have also closed borders for those coming from China.
WHO stands by China
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had initially played down on the severity of the pandemic citing fewer cases outside China, however, later called it a global health emergency on Thursday.
WHO, however, has repeatedly stated that it stands by China for its efforts to tackle the crisis. Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently stated, "Let me be clear: this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China. On the contrary, WHO continues to have confidence in China’s capacity to control the outbreak..To the people of China & to all of those around the world who have been affected by this outbreak, we want you to know that the stands with you."
Updated 09:59 IST, February 2nd 2020