UPDATE - Turkish plane leaves China with evacuees

UPDATES WITH REMARKS OF TURKISH HEALTH MINISTER; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ali Murat Alhas, Davut Demircan and Faruk Zorlu

WUHAN,China/ANKARA (AA) - A cargo plane with 42 passengers left Saturday for Turkey after evacuating Turkish citizens from Wuhan, China, the city at the heart of a deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Eleven military personnel, six health employees, two journalists and one Foreign Ministry representative are on board the plane that arrived at 6 a.m. local time (2200GMT) in Wuhan.

The evacuees were screened by Turkish health experts using a team of six experts assigned to run blood tests and scan the health conditions to eliminate the potential risk in Turkey.

If any of the passengers shows any symptom during the flight they will be taken to a special section area inside the plane.

A total of six out of 48 people decided not to return to Turkey with their own consent, the country's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca Saturday said on Twitter.

During the health checks, no symptoms were observed in any passenger, Koca underlined.

A total of 48 people, including citizens of Azerbaijan, Albania, and Georgia, had been expected to be taken to the plane after the health checks.

Once in Turkey, all aboard will be transferred to a hospital in Ankara where they will be in quarantine for 14 days in line with the virus’ incubation period.

All evacuees were informed about the process in Turkey.

Turkish citizens were happy about being inside the plane and some expressed gratitude to Turkey.

"Our Foreign Ministry and Embassy in China spent too much effort to take us back to our country, we had very difficult times here, we felt desperate. I am very happy about being here at this moment," one Turkish passenger told Anadolu Agency.

The plane also delivered medical equipment -- dispatched by Turkey’s state-run aid and development agency (TIKA) and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) -- to China.

The coronavirus, so named because under the microscope it resembles a crown, has killed at least 259 people in China, with nearly 12,000 infected. More than 118,000 people are under medical observation.

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, and Canada.

Travelers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide. Several airlines have suspended flights to Wuhan.