Officials gear up for the medical screening of the passengers who arrived from Wuhan today at New Delhi’s IGI airport. (Express photo)
Coronavirus outbreak Live Updates: Air India’s special jumbo B747 evacuated 324 Indian nationals from Wuhan in China and landed at New Delhi’s IGI airport today morning. The national carrier has sent another flight to evacuate remaining Indians stuck in China as the neighbouring country continues to deal with the outbreak of novel coronavirus. Read in Malayalam | Bangla
Of the 324 evacuees, 220 are in the Indian Army quarantine facility at Manesar and 104 are in ITBP facility at Chawla Camp. They were first screened at the Delhi IGI’s airport by a team of medical officials.
China has reported 259 people have died and nearly 11,800 are infected due to the new virus. The US has declared a public health emergency and taken drastic steps to significantly restrict entry into the country.
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Coronavirus outbreak LIVE Updates: People screened in China. (File Photo)
"The cyber cell arrested three people for spreading misinformation on social media about #CoronaVirus. Case will also be filed against those who forwarded these messages. The arrested persons hail from Thrissur," said state health minister KK Shylaja. "The patient with #coronavirus is stable. 69 people who were in contact with this patient have been identified. A total of 1793 people are currently under monitoring," she added.
Coronavirus outbreak: IndiGo says will suspend flights on Kolkata-Guangzhou route from February 6 to 25
Six Indians stranded at the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city were stopped from boarding the first special Air India flight to India due to high fever, officials said on Saturday. The first flight left early Saturday with 324 stranded Indians mostly students from Wuhan. Officials here told PTI that six Indians could not board the flight as they were stopped by the Chinese immigration officials after they tested for high temperature. The six students may have to undergo tests to determine whether they have symptoms of the coronavirus. (PTI)
At least 33 Sri Lankan students, who were evacuated on Saturday from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan, will remain under quarantine for two weeks, health officials said.
The students arrived on a special SriLankan Airlines flight which landed at the southern Mattala airport on Saturday morning and were taken to the central province military facility at Diyathalawa.
The flight departed for Wuhan on Friday to evacuate the students following discussions between the Sri Lankan and Chinese authorities.
Only one positive coronavirus case has been reported from the country so far. (PTI)
Evacuated Indian citizens at ITBP) Chhawla Camp on Saturday.
Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Saturday that the whole nation will have to get together to make sure that the threat coronavirus is contained at the lowest level and that the Army is playing its part in the effort.
When asked about the quarantine facility set up by the Army near Manesar for the 324 Indians being evacuated from China in the wake of novel coronavirus outbreak, Gen Naravane said, "Coronavirus epidemic has achieved global proportions. We are all seized of this major threat which is there for the entire world. To that end whole of the nation has to get together and put in whatever measures required to make sure that this threat and epidemic is contained at the lowest level. And for that we are playing our part."
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In a statement, the UK government said, "As of 31 January, some staff and dependants from the British Embassy and Consulates are being withdrawn from China. Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain. In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British Embassy and Consulates to provide assistance to British nationals from within China may be limited." (Reuters)
Air New Zealand said on Saturday they were suspending direct flights from their countries to mainland China in response to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Air New Zealand said its Auckland to Shanghai service would be paused during the same time as the Qantas flights. (Reuters)
People suffering from conjunctivitis, respiratory disorders and those who have travelled abroad, China in particular, or are in touch with the people likewise, could represent cases of 2019-nCoV, an ophthalmologist in Maharashtra said.
In a statement, Dr Vardhaman Kankariya, Secretary of the Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society, has sent an alert to eye specialists in the state about newly published literature in The lancet. 'This specific information about coronavirus has been shared by our parent body American Academy of Ophthalmology,' Dr Kankariya said.
He added that the academy and federal officials recommend protection for the mouth, nose and eyes when caring for patients potentially infected with 2019-nCoV.
Air India statement: Another flight will depart to Wuhan from Delhi at 12.50 pm today with different set of crew, same doctors team with other aircraft. The rescue team is again head by Capt Amitabh Singh, Director Operation, Air India.The second evacuation flight by Air India to Wuhan will depart today at 12.50pm with different set of crew but same doctors. The rescue team is again being led by Capt Amitabh Singh, Director Operations, Air India. @IndianExpress— Pranav Mukul (@pranavmukul) February 1, 2020
Qantas Airways said it will suspend its two direct flight routes from Australia to mainland China from February 9 in response to travel restrictions imposed by some countries due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Australian national carrier's direct flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai will be halted until March 29, it said in a statement published Saturday. (Reuters)
Of the 324 Indians flown from Wuhan to Delhi by Air India, three are minors, 211 students and 110 are working professionals.
Indians who arrived in the Air India special flight from Wuhan at Delhi Airport today are being taken to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Chhawla Camp.
Facebook says it's working to limit the spread of misinformation and potentially harmful content about the coronavirus as bogus claims about the ongoing outbreak circulate online.
Kang-Xing Jin, Facebook's head of health, announced that the social media platform will begin removing posts that include false claims or conspiracy theories about the virus that have been flagged by health authorities. The company said it will focus on posts that discourage people from getting medical treatment, or that make potentially dangerous claims about cures.
The company will also limit the spread of posts debunked by its third-party fact checkers, and send users who shared the post a notification.
(AP)
Screening will be conducted by a team of doctors at Delhi Airport for all the 324 Indians who have arrived in the Air India special flight from Wuhan today. If necessary, the evacuees will be kept in isolation at facilities of the Army in Manesar and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) near Chhawla.
Air India’s special jumbo B747 that plane took off from the Wuhan airport in the early hours of Saturday evacuating 324 Indian nationals landed in New Delhi, ANI reported. The national carrier will operate another flight to evacuate remaining Indians stuck in China as the neighbouring country continue to deal with the outbreak of novel coronavirus.
After the US, Japan and Germany also advised against non-essential travel and Britain did as well, except for Hong Kong and Macao. Popular holiday and shopping destination Singapore barred Chinese from travelling there, becoming the first Southeast Asian nation to do so.
The death toll from China's new coronavirus outbreak has risen to 259 and the tally of confirmed infections has surged to nearly 12,000, news agency AFP reported Saturday. The number of infections in China also rose, by 2,102, bringing the nationwide total to 11,791.
A new viral disease that has infected nearly 10,000 people across the world has just been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This new strain of coronavirus, which has caused the infection, had by Friday claimed 213 lives in China, where it originated last month. In India, one person, who recently returned from China, has tested positive for the virus, and has been quarantined. Click here to know more.
The United States on Friday declared a public health emergency and announced significant entry restrictions because of a new virus that hit China and has spread to other nations.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who is coordinating the federal response, announced that President Donald Trump has signed an order that will temporarily bar entry to the U.S. of foreign nationals, other than the immediate family of US citizens and permanent residents, who have travelled in China within the last 14 days. The new restrictions take effect at 5 pm (EST) on Sunday. (AP)
Air India's jumbo B747 plane took off from the Wuhan airport in the early hours of Saturday for Delhi, evacuating over 300 Indian nationals from China as the neighbouring country continued to deal with the outbreak of novel coronavirus.
"With 324 passengers, the special flight has taken off for India from Wuhan. It may reach Delhi at 7.30 am," an Air India spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The first batch of Indian passengers in Air India special flight that will take off from Wuhan (China).
In view of the coronavirus outbreak in China, the Airports Authority of India, North East Region, has set up counters at the international airport here to screen for infected passengers, according to a release issued on Friday. The Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi airport is the only in the North East region with international flight movement from Singapore and Bhutan, it said. (PTI)
First batch of Indian passengers start boarding Air India special flight in China's Wuhan.
Two students who returned from China in the last few days were admitted to a government hospital in Indore on Friday for suspected coronavirus infection, officials said. One of the students is a 22-year-old woman hailing from Indore, who is studying medicine in Wuhan, the city in China which is at the centre of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The other is a 21-year-old male medical student hailing from Khargone district of the state, health department officials said. (PTI)
"The epidemic is generally preventable, controllable and curable. We have full confidence and capability to win the battle against the epidemic," says Sun Weidong, Chinese Envoy to India.
Sun Weidong, Chinese Envoy to India: As of today, 218 confirmed patients have recovered & been discharged from hospitals. The epidemic is generally preventable, controllable and curable. We have full confidence and capability to win the battle against the epidemic. https://t.co/VKxJhHrCUs
— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2020
"China is in a critical period of epidemic control. We have found confirmed cases of Coronavirus in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions," says Sun Weidong, Chinese Ambassador to India.
Pakistan on Friday offered to send a field hospital and a team of doctors to China to help fight coronavirus that has killed over 200 people and infected thousands of others.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had a telephone conversation with China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and conveyed his condolences on the loss of lives.
"On behalf of the government of Pakistan, the Foreign Minister extended the offer of sending a field hospital to China as well as sending a group of doctors to the brotherly people of China to assist them in the recovery efforts," the Foreign Office said. (PTI)
Delta Air Lines and American Airlines Group Friday temporarily suspended all remaining US-China flights after the US State Department elevated a travel advisory over concerns about the coronavirus. The United States told citizens on Thursday not to travel to China due to an epidemic that has infected nearly 10,000 people and been declared a global emergency.
The Indian Army has set up a quarantine facility in Manesar near Delhi to keep around 300 Indian students being evacuated from China’s Hubei province in the aftermath of Novel Coronavirus outbreak. According to officials, the procedure of screening and quarantine will comprise two steps. The first one will be at the Indira Gandhi International airport followed by quarantine at Manesar. Click here to know more.
After first round of evacuation, another special flight may depart from Delhi airport on Saturday to evacuate the rest of the Indians from Wuhan, says Air India spokesperson.
Late on Thursday night, India time, the second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General in Geneva under the International Health Regulations to discuss the situation arising out of the novel coronavirus (nCoV 2019) outbreak in different parts of the world, declared that this is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). So, what does WHO declaration mean? Read here...
Air India's 423-seater jumbo B747 plane took off from the Delhi airport for Wuhan at around 1.20 pm on Friday to evacuate Indian nationals as China deals with the novel coronavirus outbreak, officials said. There are five doctors from the Health Ministry and one paramedical staff onboard, they said, adding that around 400 Indians are expected to be evacuated. "The plane did a pushback towards the runway at around 12.50 pm. It took off at around 1.20 pm on Friday. The departure got delayed a little from 12.30 pm scheduled time because of some pending clearances," said a senior airline official. (PTI)
Pilots and flight attendants are demanding airlines stop flights to China as health officials declare a global emergency over the rapidly spreading coronavirus, with American Airlines' pilots filing a lawsuit seeking an immediate halt. China has reported nearly 10,000 cases and 213 deaths, but the virus has spread to 18 countries, mostly, presumably, by airline passengers. The United States has advised its citizens not to travel to China, raising its warning to the same level as those for Iraq and Afghanistan. (Reuters)
At least 400 Indians will be evacuated today from Wuhan. The Air India flight will take off from New Delhi at 12 pm today and will return by 2 am tomorrow (Saturday). Further arrangements will be done by the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Health, says Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani.
People arriving at Chennai and other airports in Tamil Nadu from Wuhan are now required to provide blood samples as part of screening process for coronavirus with immediate effect. They will also be put on compulsory home quarantine for at least 28 days. On Thursday, the state health department said 78 people who had returned from the coronavirus-hit China were kept under ‘house quarantine’ and were being monitored. Speaking to indianexpress.com, Director of Public Health, K Kolandaisamy, said out of the 78 passengers, 10 are Chinese nationals. “We are focusing on hand-washing, surface cleaning, etc. Children and the elderly are advised not to venture into large crowds. People should avoid unprotected close contact with anyone developing cold or flu-like symptoms and should immediately seek medical attention if they have longstanding cold or fever,” he said.
Five doctors from Health Ministry will be going in B747 aircraft to China, Air India said, adding the plane will be at Beijing airport for 2-3 hours to evacuate Indians from the country.
European countries stepped up efforts Thursday to contain the virus sweeping through central China, sending a chartered airliner there to evacuate hundreds of European citizens, scrapping more commercial flights to Chinese destinations and keeping some 7,000 people on a cruise ship while one possibly infected passenger got tested, reported AP. Signaling intensifying international concern, the World Health Organization in Geneva declared the viral outbreak that has sickened more than 7,800 people and caused 170 deaths in China as a global emergency, while Russia closed its long border with the Asian giant. Read more...
Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja held a high-level meeting at the medical college hospital in Thrissur on Thursday midnight to take stock of the situation after a positive case of novel coronavirus was detected in the state and the patient was kept in an isolation ward, news agency PTI reported. "We need to create awareness among the people. Strong action will be taken in case anyone attempts to spread any fake news. We will hold high-level meetings every day and issue medical bulletin with updates," the minister said.
North Korea has postponed plans to tear down South Korean-made hotels and other facilities at the North's Diamond Mountain resort to prevent the spread of a new virus that has reached the South after sickening thousands in China, Reuters reported.
The North's decision, which was conveyed to the South through a fax message late Thursday, came as it intensifies precautions against the outbreak, including blocking tourists, reducing flights and mobilizing screening efforts in a nationwide campaign state media described as a matter of "national existence".
As more evacuees arrived from China, Japan will fast-track new rules to halt the spread of the new virus that has killed over 200 people, the country's prime minister said Friday. Japan has already decided to term the new virus a "designated infectious disease", allowing the forcible hospitalisation of those infected and giving immigration authorities the power to restrict people with the coronavirus from entering the country, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, China has decided to send charter flights overseas to bring back people from Wuhan, its state media reported.
Air India B747 aircraft will depart today from Delhi to Wuhan (China) for the evacuation of Indians.
Rahul Gandhi extends support to the families of coronavirus patients "who have been forced into quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus"."In China, the Coronavirus has killed hundreds of people. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and the millions who have been forced into quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus. May they find the courage & strength to persevere through this terrible ordeal," Gandhi wrote on Twitter.
Indian Embassy has drawn up a list of 374 students — till 11pm on Thursday — who will board flight no.1 and will be tentatively evacuated on Friday. However, official communication to students indicated that this will be subject to clearing the medical check-up conducted by Chinese officials. The students have been told to pack no more than one carry-on bag (7 kg) and one check-in luggage (15 kg) for their journey. They have also been asked to make sufficient arrangements for masks, gloves, tissues, hand sanitizers, adequate food and drinking water and essential medicines. Students have been told to prepare for departure at “very short notice” on Friday afternoon.
The US advised against all travel to China on Friday after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a new virus that has spread to more than a dozen countries a global emergency, AP reported. The number of cases rose more than tenfold in a week, including the highest death toll in a 24-hour period reported Friday.
The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak has mounted to 213 with the number of confirmed cases adding up to 9,692, China's national authorities announced on Friday.
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