Coronavirus: Nepal, Canada, US to Italy, countries that are evacuating nationals from virus-hit areas
A growing number of countries around the world are evacuating or planning to evacuate diplomatic staff and citizens from parts of China and a cruise ship in Japan hit by the new coronavirus.
Following are some countries` evacuation plans, and how they aim to manage the health risk from those who are returning.
- Canada said it will begin evacuating its citizens aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship on Thursday evening. There are 251 Canadians on board, of which 47 have tested positive.
- Six South Koreans and one Japanese spouse flew to South Korea on Wednesday morning on a chartered flight.
- Australia said there were 220 nationals on the ship. While 169 of them would be evacuated, 36 infected shall remain on the ship. Another 15 have chosen to stay onboard. Those evacuated will be flown to Darwin and quarantined. (Photo: Reuters)
- Taiwan plans this week to send a chartered flight, which could arrive as early as Friday afternoon, to evacuate its more than 20 citizens from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, the Taiwan government said on Wednesday. It evacuated 247 of the estimated 500 Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan on Feb. 3.
- A plane load of New Zealanders, Australians and Pacific Islanders evacuated from Wuhan arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Feb. 5, officials said.
- Nepal on Feb. 16 evacuated 175 of its nationals from Wuhan.
- The United States flew back over 300 Americans who had been stuck on a cruise ship affected by the coronavirus. They will face two more weeks of quarantine after spending the previous 14 days docked in Japan. (Photo: Reuters)
- Canada, after evacuating 215 people earlier, flew back 185 citizens from Wuhan on Feb. 11. All evacuees are quarantined on the Trenton, Ontario base for two weeks.
- Hong Kong said it will send an aircraft to Japan to bring back passengers from a quarantined cruise ship, which has seen the most coronavirus infections outside of China.
- The United States authorized the voluntary departure of its government employees and their family members from Hong Kong on Feb 11. On Feb. 6, two planes with about 300 passengers, mostly U.S. citizens, took off from Wuhan for the United States, the State Department said. (Photo: Reuters)
- A second evacuation flight is bringing back another 174 Singaporeans and their family members from Wuhan to the city state on Feb. 9, Singapore`s foreign ministry said.
- Thirty Filipinos returned to the Philippines on Feb. 9 from Wuhan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. The returning passengers and a 10-member government team will be quarantined for 14 days.
- Britain`s Foreign Office said on Feb. 18 it is working to organise a flight to Japan to evacuate its nationals from a cruise ship hit by the coronavirus. Britain`s final evacuation flight from Wuhan, carrying more than 200 people, landed at a Royal Air Force base in central England on Feb. 9. A plane carrying 83 British and 27 European Union nationals from Wuhan landed in Britain last week. (Photo: Reuters)
- Uzbekistan has evacuated 251 people from China and quarantined them on arrival in Tashkent, the Central Asian nation`s state airline said on Feb. 6.
- The 34 Brazilians evacuated from Wuhan landed in Brazil on Feb. 9, where they will begin 18 days of quarantine.
- Italy flew back 56 nationals from Wuhan to Rome on Feb. 3. The group will spend two weeks in quarantine in a military hospital, the government said. (Photo: Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia has evacuated 10 students from Wuhan, Saudi state television reported on Feb. 2.
- Indonesia`s government flew 243 Indonesians from Hubei on Feb. 2 and placed them under quarantine at a military base on an island northwest of Borneo.
- South Korea evacuated 147 people on a third chartered flight from Wuhan that arrived on Feb. 12. The country flew 368 people on a charter flight that arrived on Jan. 31. (Photo: Reuters)