Ministers on evacuation of Germans from China

Germany's defence minister said on Saturday a plane carrying 102 people from the Chinese city of Wuhan back to Germany was refused permission to land and refuel in Moscow due to what the Russians said was lack of capacity, and had to divert to Helsinki.

The German Armed Forces Airbus A310 was en route to Frankfurt when the diversion occurred.

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the reasons behind the Russian decision will be discussed at a meeting next week with the Foreign Office.

Those who were evacuated from Wuhan, the epicentre of an outbreak of a novel coronavirus, will be kept in quarantine for 14 days.

So far, Germany has confirmed five cases of novel coronavirus.

All five cases involve employees of German vehicle parts supplier Webasto who came into contact with a visiting employee who had travelled from Shanghai.

China has reported 9,692 confirmed cases with a death toll of 213 as of Friday, and the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a global emergency.