Monday, December 4, 2023
 
 

Europeans flee China amid coronavirus outbreak

EPA-EFE/GIUSEPPE LAMI
Tourists wear a protective mask, while visiting the monuments in Rome, Italy, 23 January 2020. The outbreak of a new SARS-like coronavirus in China has claimed 25 lives so far.

- Advertisement -

A second French-chartered airliner flew from China to Europe, carrying 300 evacuees, including citizens of France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Czech Republic and some African countries.
The evacuation comes as the death toll of the new coronavirus rose to 362. Yesterday, the virus claimed its first life outside China, a 44-year-old man from the outbreak epicenter, Wuhan, who was in the Philippines.
All the 180 French people who were flown back from Wuhan on the first flight were being quarantined for 14 days at an isolated resort. One of them showed symptoms of being infected with the virus and was sent to a hospital for testing.
Europe has 25 reported cases of people been infected with the virus: Germany has 10; France has six; Russia, Italy and the U.K. have two each and Finland, Sweden and Spain each have one.
A German official said that two people who were flown back to Germany were found to be infected. The Italian government also set out an air force plane for Wuhan to bring home 67 Italian nationals.
Poland has also evacuated its citizens from Wuhan:  “Due to the epidemiological situation in the Chinese province of Hubei, it has been decided to evacuate citizens of the Republic of Poland. Thanks to cooperation with our European partners, Poles are currently on their way to France, from where they will be taken by special military aircraft of the Polish Armed Forces to Wroclaw”, the country’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
Meanwhile, hospital workers in Hong Kong have gone on strike, demanding the border with mainland China be completely closed to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. However, the government said closing the border would go against advice from the World Health Organization.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Latest

US-Central Asia relations: It’s time for a Green 5+1

During the United Nations General Assembly in September, a...

Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda

David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between...

Don't miss

US-Central Asia relations: It’s time for a Green 5+1

During the United Nations General Assembly in September, a...

Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda

David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between...

Ukraine’s persecuted mayor

Lest it be forgotten, the major thematic issue in...

Why China’s new map has stirred regional tensions

In the waning days of summer, closely following a BRICS summit and mere days ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Group...

IEA warns transitions bring new risks to energy security

Clean technology and critical mineral supply chains are highly geographically concentrated, the International Energy Agency warned in its World Energy Outlook for 2023 and...

World Health Organization highlights Kazakhstan’s historic role

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) held a major regional conference and celebration in Astana, Kazakhstan October 23-26 on the subject of Primary...

Central Asian leaders travel to China to pay homage to Xi’s BRI vision

China’s leader Xi Jinping threw a 10th anniversary bash for the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), his $1-trillion plan to leverage Beijing’s financial resources...

After offshore gas pipe suspected sabotage, Finland switches to LNG

Finland has switched to liquified natural gas supplies to cover the country’s needs following a decision on October 8 to shut down the Balticconnector...

How countries prepare for population growth and decline

Early this year, India surpassed China as the most populous country in the world, with the latter having 850,000 fewer people by the end...

Can Central Asia escape China’s debt trap?

While Washington focuses on the war in Ukraine, Russia and China seek to expand their influence in regions where the US is not sufficiently...

Strong US support for Minnesota’s 2027 Expo bid

The next General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions, better known by its acronym ‘BIE’, will take place June 20-21 in Paris where...