US repatriations of coronavirus-stranded Americans overseas tops 9,000: US State Dept

Over 9,000 Americans who were unable to return to the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic have been repatriated, State Department spokesperson Morgan Orgatus said in a press release on Tuesday.

"As of today, we have repatriated more than 9,000 Americans from 28 countries. Our teams, working around-the-clock in Washington and overseas, will bring home thousands more in the coming days, from every region of the world," Ortagus said.

"Our first priority was to evacuate more than 800 people in January and February from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began. The operation involved five flights and more than 300 medical staff, diplomats, and logistics experts - all coordinated by the Department," she added.

The State Department has never before undertaken an evacuation operation of such geographic breadth, scale and complexity, the release said.

"We are using all the tools at our disposal to overcome logistical and diplomatic challenges and bring Americans home from hard-to-reach areas and cities hardest-hit by the virus," the release added.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Embassies in several other countries published directions for stranded Americans to reserve seats on flights back to the country.

Over 600 people have died due to novel coronavirus in the US as per the data presented by Johns Hopkins University.