India will bring back its nationals from China's Hubei Province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, in two special flights, said the ministry of external affairs on Wednesday.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India has requested Beijing to give permission to operate these flights. He also said the Indian Embassy in Beijing is in touch with the Chinese authorities on the ground to work out necessary logistics.
Earlier, the Indian Embassy tweeted that they were working hard to ensure smooth evacuation of Indian citizens from Hubei Province. “We are already in touch with many sections of Indian Community in Hubei, including our students,” it said.
“We urge all Indian citizens from Hubei who have not yet contacted the Embassy to do so urgently on our hotlines (+8618610952903, +8618612083629, +8618612083617) or dedicated email ID helpdesk.beijing@mea.gov.in,” the Embassy said in another tweet.
Meanwhile, the only two Indian carriers that fly to China—IndiGo and Air India—on Wednesday announced suspension of most of their flights to the country which is battling a coronavirus outbreak, joining other airlines based in Asia, North America and Europe which have restricted operations to the region.
The Centre has issued a fresh travel advisory asking people to refrain from travelling to China and has ramped up screening across airports, ports and borders.
The disease which emerged in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei Province, has spread to at least 17 countries, with the United Arab Emirates announcing on Wednesday its first case of the new coronavirus in a family from Wuhan.
The death toll from the disease in China has mounted to 132 with about 6,000 confirmed infections.
No case of the deadly virus has been reported in India, though hundreds remain in observation in many states including as many as 806 in Kerala, according to officials.
The Union Health Ministry has asked people to use 24x7 helpline (011-23978046) for queries related to respiratory infection.
The health ministry also has established four more laboratories apart from the NIV-Pune for testing samples. These labs have been made functional at Alleppey, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
With inputs from PTI
