Evacuation of Ind from Wuhan likely today

Following the spread of the novel coronavirus nCoV2019 epidemic to all the regions of China, New Delhi has been in consultation with the Chinese authorities about the evacuation of Indian nationals trapped in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Sources said the discussions were still on because the Chinese authorities have been advising against evacuation given the high risk of the spread of the virus.

Wuhan city with a population of 11 million people, has been placed under a lockdown.

New Delhi has requested Beijing for a permission to operate two flights to bring back Ind from Hubei province capital. The embassy is in touch with Chinese authorities on the ground to work out necessary logistics and has started sharing evacuation 'consent forms' online with Ind stranded in Wuhan.

The consent form makes it mandatory for the evacuated Ind to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival. Evacuation will, however, start after preliminary medical check-ups.

The death toll caused by the coronavirus in China has risen to 170. Chinese authorities also confirmed that the epidemic has spread to all the 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as well.

China's national health commission in its daily report said that out of 7,711 people infected with the virus, 1,370 patients were critical and 12,167 under observation for suspected infection. But around 89,000 people have been in close contact with patients, so far.

The outbreak, though with miniscule numbers, has spread to at least 16 other countries triggering a worldwide panic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will meet later in the day to assess whether the epidemic in China is now a global health emergency.

India on Wednesday sent 27 samples of Indian nationals to the Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Virology, Pune. However, "all of them tested negative for nCoV2020", the government said and also advised citizens to refrain from travelling to China.

"In view of the spurt of cases being reported from China and travel related cases appearing in many countries, travellers to China are advised to refrain from travelling to China. All travellers from China were advised to monitor their health closely," the government said in its advisory.

( With inputs from IANS )