Ukrainians Caught at Heart of Coronavirus Epidemic to be Evacuated to Ukraine
Ukraine will be evacuating some of its citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic that has infected nearly 70,000 people worldwide and has resulted in nearly ten thousand deaths.
Ukraine will be evacuating some of its citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic that has infected nearly 70,000 people worldwide and has resulted in nearly 1,800 deaths.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Health has confirmed that it will evacuate 56 people in total, 11 of whom are foreign citizens.
The deputy health minister, Viktor Lyashko, has highlighted that only people not infected with coronavirus will be allowed on board. Before boarding, each of them will undergo a medical examination carried out first by Chinese and then Ukrainian doctors.
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According to the BBC, the evacuation will be handled by a charter flight operated by Ukrainian airline SkyUp. The plane is scheduled to depart for China on February 18 and return the following day. In addition to evacuees, the flight will carry Ukrainian officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, as well as medics.
Everyone evacuating from Wuhan to Ukraine will undergo a 14-day quarantine period in the country before they are released. The quarantined evacuees will most likely be held in a sanatorium in the Kyiv region, which is now undergoing inspections to ensure that the quarantine environment remains secure.
Originally, the evacuation was meant to take place on February 11, but the Ukrainian government announced the same day that it would indefinitely postpone the procedure.
The Argentinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has thanked Ukraine for assisting in the evacuation, as some of the foreign citizens evacuated are Argentinian.
“The [Argentinian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs extends its thanks to the Ukrainian government for its generosity and to the Chinese government for their cooperation,” reads a statement released by Argentina.
An estimated 100 Ukrainians are thought to be in Wuhan, according to information provided by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Two Ukrainians, both on the cruise liner Diamond Princess currently quarantined in a Japanese harbor, are known to have been infected.
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