North Africans evacuated from China land in Algiers

North Africans evacuated from China on Monday landed in Algiers international airport after being quarantined for 14 days at a hotel in La Marsa, 30 kilometers east of the capital.

Global evacuations were underway from China as health authorities reported 17,205 confirmed cases of a new viral outbreak that has so far killed 361 people.

The group that landed in Algiers included 36 students and an additional 17 citizens of three other North African countries; 10 Tunisians, three Libyans and four Mauritanians.

Following the flight's landing, Air Algerie, the North African nation's flag carrier, announced it was suspending its weekly flights to Beijing, preventively.

Algeria has not announced any positive cases.

An official of the World Health Organization, Dr. Michel Yao, emergency operations program manager in Africa, listed Algeria as one of WHO's 13 high-priority African countries - with direct China flights or many visitors from China.

Algeria employs thousands of Chinese, often on construction sites.