Indonesia evacuates 238 citizens from Wuhan, China

By Mahmut Atanur

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Indonesia on Sunday evacuated 238 of its citizens from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to local media, the Batik Air commercial aircraft, carrying citizens from Wuhan, landed at the Hang Nadim Airport in Indonesia’s Batam Island on Sunday.

Four citizens, on their own will, refused to return, while three were not allowed because of their health conditions, said Terawan Agus Putranto, the Indonesian health minister.

He added that the health conditions of all evacuated citizens were good.

The evacuees will be taken to Indonesia’s Riau Islands province temporarily via three military aircrafts after Batam island, Putranto said, adding they will be quarantined for 14 days in a military hospital.

No cases of new coronavirus was reported in Indonesia.

The country's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi also expressed his appreciation for the successful completion of the evacuation process.

Indonesia’s Lion Air announced Wednesday it will temporarily suspend all its flights to China as of Feb. 1.

The coronavirus, so named because under the microscope it resembles a crown, has killed at least 304 people in China and one in the Philippines.

A total of 14,380 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have been reported in China, the National Health Commission said.

It was reported that 45 people died in the last 24 hours and 19,544 were suspected of being infected.

Around 137,600 people are under medical observation, while the number of people discharged reached 328.

Since its outbreak late last year, China has put Wuhan under lockdown in a bid to contain the virus and is building a 1,000-bed hospital to treat those affected.

Beyond China, the virus has spread to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S., Singapore, France, Vietnam, the Philippines and Canada.

* Writing by Faruk Zorlu from Ankara.