MEA begins evacuation process for Indian nationals from Hubei province in China

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said it has begun the process to prepare for the evacuation of Indian nationals from Wuhan, the epicentre of deadly SARS-like coronavirus outbreak that has already killed more than 50 people in China and infected more than thousands.

"We have begun the process to prepare for the evacuation of Indian nationals affected by the situation arising out of nCorona-2019 virus outbreak in Hubei Province, China," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Twitter.

"Our @EOIBeijing is working out the logistics and is in touch with the Chinese govt. authorities and our nationals on this matter. We will continue to share updates," he added.

China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.

Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic as the virus continues to spread, with cases reported in Australia, France, the United States and seven Asian countries besides China.

India's Civil Aviation Ministry has also opened health camps at seven Indian airports across the country to screen passengers arriving from China as well as Hong Kong.

However, the World Health Organisation has acknowledged that the respiratory illness, which has been traced to the city of Wuhan, is an emergency in China.