Coronavirus: China to fly out citizens from Iran

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - China will fly out its citizens from coronavirus-hit Iran on Tuesday night, Chinese media reported.

The Chinese Embassy in Iran said a commercial flight will take 200 Chinese citizens, including students to their home country, daily Global Times reported.

Iran has reported the most deaths from coronavirus after China.

The global death toll from coronavirus has crossed 3,000 -- of which nearly 2,945 deaths were recorded in China.

Iranian authorities said Tuesday 77 people have died of COVID-19, as the virus is officially known, with a total of 2,300 confirmed cases.

The Chinese students are stranded in Qom, the worst-hit city of Iran.

The World Health Organization, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, has updated the global risk level to very high.

The Chinese citizens will have to pay for their tickets, the report added.

Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases worldwide, Chinese authorities said Tuesday that it is seeing a decline in the outbreak. So far, China has confirmed more than 80,000 cases of the virus.