Nepal evacuates 175 citizens from Wuhan, quarantine them in nearby town

Nepal on Sunday, February 16, reportedly evacuated at least 175 nationals from the City of Wuhan in Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The citizens are being quarantined in a town near the border, confirmed an official.

Mahendra Shrestha, the spokesperson for the Health Ministry in Japan told the media that a chartered plane operated by state-owned Nepal Airlines carrying 134 men and 41 women, mostly students, landed at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport earlier on Sunday, 16 February.

According to the reports, the evacuees are being quarantined for two weeks in lockdown in the nearby town of Bhaktapur to prevent further spread of the disease due to the transmission. They are under the close observation of doctors in quarantine and will be allowed to leave and join their families in case they were found healthy and tested negative for the COVID19.

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Evacuees repatriated after the protests 

The Nepal nationals were reportedly repatriated after the protests by parents of students studying in the Wuhan city who demanded that the government airlifted them from the Hubei province lockdown and brought them back into the territory. The parents reportedly protested in front of the Health Ministry demanding that Nepali students in Wuhan be brought home sooner.

The government said that the delay was due to the time the health authorities needed to prepare buildings and facilities to keep the returnees in quarantine and carry out medical checks. The assistance for the psychological wellbeing of the evacuees was also arranged by the government.

Nepal has only one confirmed case of Coronavirus so far, as the death toll from China's Coronavirus epidemic has reportedly climbed past 1,600 as of Sunday, February 16. The World Health Organization (WHO) praised the country's efforts to contain the new disease, saying they have "bought the world time" and that other nations must make the most of it.

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