Poland Evacuates Citizens From Virus-Stricken Hubei Province - Prime Minister

WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2020) Poland has evacuated its citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei Province in connection with the deadly coronavirus outbreak, the country's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Saturday.

"Due to the epidemiological situation in the Chinese province of Hubei, it has been decided to evacuate citizens of the Republic of Poland. Thanks to cooperation with our European partners, the Poles are currently on their way to France, from where they will be delivered by special military aircraft of the Polish Armed Forces to Wroclaw," Morawiecki wrote on his Facebook page.

The Prime Minister said that none of the evacuees are suspected with coronavirus infection but will nonetheless undergo tests upon arriving in the country.

Most governments have evacuated their citizens from the Hubei province starting late January. Many are currently quarantined in their own countries and being monitored for signs of infection.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China's Wuhan in late December and has since spread to more than 20 countries. The virus has already killed 259 people in China and infected about 12,000 others. the World Health Organization earlier this week announced an international public health emergency to prompt all nations to take precautionary measures.