The United States is arranging a charter flight on Sunday to bring its citizens and diplomats back from the Chinese city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak of a new corona virus.
The plane, with around 230 people, will carry diplomats from the U.S. consulate as well as U.S. citizens and their families, citing a person familiar with the operation.
Washington was given approval for the operation from China’s Foreign Ministry and other government agencies following negotiations in recent days.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said that on Thursday, the State Department had ordered the departure of family members and all U.S. government employees at its Wuhan consulate, but declined to comment on the report that other U.S. citizens would be evacuated from the city.
The decision to move U.S. consulate staff and families was due to the outbreak of the corona virus “and logistical disruptions stemming from restricted transportation and overwhelmed hospitals in the city of Wuhan,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
