Govt wants to evacuate Malaysians from Wuhan

PUTRAJAYA: The government will be working with its Chinese counterparts to evacuate 78 Malaysians who are currently stuck in the Wuhan lockdown.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic) said this was decided at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (Jan 29).

“Malaysians who return to the country will be quarantined for 14 days first before they are allowed to go home, to ensure they are not affected by the novel coronavirus, ” he told a press conference after chairing the Cabinet meeting here.

The prime minister added that there are 26 Health Ministry facilities that provide quarantine care for the returning Malaysians.

Dr Mahathir said the Foreign Ministry will be in touch with the Chinese government to facilitate the return of these Malaysians.

The Japanese government has recently evacuated its citizens out of the virus-hit Wuhan city by plane.

About 206 Japanese nationals were on board the flight out.

Dr Mahathir also said Malaysia will provide assistance to the people of Wuhan by sending food and other essentials such as gloves and face masks, which are in short supply.

“We are told that food supply in Wuhan is diminishing and can only last for a few days.

“We are interested to help the people of Wuhan.

“If we are allowed to send a flight to pick up Malaysians in Wuhan, then we can send the supplies to the people there, ” he said.

On the seven cases of coronavirus in Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said they are in stable condition and there is no worsening of their symptoms.