Brazilians repatriated from China begin quarantine

Dozens of Brazilians repatriated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of a new virus, landed Sunday at an airbase in the Brazilian state of Goias, where they will spend the next 18 days in quarantine. The operation, dubbed Return to Beloved Homeland Brazil, has brought back 34 Brazilians and their foreign parents to an airbase some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the capital city of Brasilia.

The Brazilian students and families could be seen leaving the aircrafts wearing masks that covered their mouths and noses, some waving small Brazilian flags at TV cameras. They were then transferred to buses that took them to transit hotels, equipped with internet, phones and leisure areas. The 11 crew members and seven health professionals dispatched in each of the two aircraft will also be subject to observation for an undetermined time period.

Before landing in Goias at about 6 a.m. local time, the aircraft stopped in Warsaw, Poland, where six Polish residents repatriated along with the Brazilians were transferred to local authorities.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported on Feb. 7 that Brazil had received similar requests from South American countries, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Colombia. The daily said that Brazil’s decision to only take on Polish individuals had irritated some diplomats, who believed the move to be “ideological”.

Brazil’s ministry of foreign affairs denied the allegations and said it had been “impossible to attend demands to transport more than 80 passengers from different nationalities.” The statement added that Warsaw was a convenient logistical stop for air planes to refuel.

Brazil has had no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. As of Friday, the Health Ministry was still monitoring eight suspect cases and had discarded 26 others. Mainland China reported that the number of deaths grew by 97 to 908, with at least two more outside the country.

READ: Coronavirus: China Confirms Cases Of Infection Exceed 40,000, Death Toll Increases To 908