Jan. 30, 2020
Aviation Authority to Airlines: Help Stranded Wuhan Residents Return Home
Chinese airlines should not bar Wuhan passengers who pass health checks from boarding, China’s aviation authority announced Thursday.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it had granted approval for airlines to arrange chartered flights to Wuhan from overseas, just over a week after all flights to and from the city were canceled to contain the novel coronavirus that originated at a local wet market.
One chartered flight from Singapore landed at Wuhan’s airport Thursday morning with over 200 of the city’s residents aboard. According to the CAAC, other Wuhan residents who had been in Thailand, Myanmar, and Japan have also returned to the central Chinese city.
Umetrip, a flight-tracking app developed by a state-owned company with access to CAAC’s passenger data, on Thursday introduced a new push notification feature that sends an alert to air travelers if any of their fellow passengers test positive for the novel coronavirus.
When Wuhan was put on lockdown on Jan. 23, around 4,000 residents of the city became stranded overseas. Though Wuhan’s tourism bureau appealed to tour operators to help them return home, some airlines have faced resistance from passengers. On Monday, a China Southern flight from Nagoya, Japan to Shanghai was delayed five hours after over 70 passengers refused to board alongside 19 people from Wuhan.
“Our common enemy should be the disease, not the people of Wuhan,” an official from the National Health Commission said at a press conference Wednesday. “Under the current severe situation for controlling potentially infectious sources, everyone should behave rationally.”
Coronavirus Death Toll at 170, Over 7,700 Infected in China
As of 10 a.m. Thursday, the novel coronavirus that originated in the central city of Wuhan had killed 170 people and infected over 7,700 others in China, according to official data.
Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, confirmed its first case on Thursday, a day after launching a Level 1 emergency response to the virus, as Shanghai and Beijing did last week. The virus has now been detected in every provincial-level administrative region of the Chinese mainland.
Huanggang, located about 75 kilometers east of Wuhan, now has the second most coronavirus cases of any city in Hubei, with nearly 500 confirmed infections as of Wednesday.
A supervisory team sent by Beijing urged Hubei authorities to further strengthen screenings of respiratory ailments that may be caused by the novel coronavirus. The supervisors have also ordered local authorities to improve, optimize, and speed up the detection process.
Currently, there are 12,167 suspected coronavirus cases on the Chinese mainland, and 128 patients have made full recoveries, the National Health Commission said.
Beyond the mainland, a total of 25 cases have been confirmed in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. There are also around 80 confirmed cases globally, including in Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Germany, Cambodia, Canada, Malaysia, France, Nepal, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States.
Medical workers inspect a residential community where suspected coronavirus infections have been found, Kunming, Yunnan province, Jan. 29, 2020. Kang Ping/CNS
Multiple Airlines Suspend China Flights
Several international airlines have suspended flights to and from China, with the novel coronavirus having spread to over a dozen countries abroad.
Air Canada announced Wednesday that it would suspend direct flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai from Jan. 30 to Feb. 29, in line with the Canadian government's recommendation to avoid nonessential travel to China. Also on Wednesday, British Airways announced that it would suspend direct flights to and from the Chinese mainland for the rest of January and February.
German carrier Lufthansa, as well as its Swiss and Austrian subsidiaries, has also suspended flights to China amid the ongoing epidemic.
United Airlines became the first major airline to limit air travel due to the coronavirus when it announced Tuesday that 24 of its flights between China and the United States would be suspended for the first week of February.
3 Japanese Evacuated From Wuhan Test Positive for Coronavirus
Three of the 206 Japanese citizens who were on a chartered flight out of Wuhan on Wednesday are confirmed to have the novel coronavirus, Japan’s state broadcaster reported, citing the country’s health ministry.
Two of the three tested positive for the virus even though they hadn’t shown symptoms, while the third person complained of a sore throat and later developed a fever, according to Japanese media.
A separate chartered plane carrying 195 Americans, including diplomats and their families, left Wuhan and landed in the United States early Wednesday morning local time. The passengers will be kept under medical observation at a military base in Southern California for three days.
Other countries including Canada, France, South Korea, Italy, and India are reportedly also making arrangements to bring their citizens home from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
For daily updated figures on infections, deaths, and suspected cases in China and abroad, click "Read more" to see Sixth Tone’s digital infographic.
(Copy URL and open in browser)