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Government awaits green light for evacuation
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An All Nippon Airways Boeing 767-300, on a charter flight from the Chinese city of Wuhan arranged by Japan's government to evacuate its citizens, is seen on the apron after landing at Haneda airport in Tokyo on January 29, 2020. The first Japanese nationals evacuated from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of a deadly virus outbreak, arrived in Tokyo on January 29 aboard a charter plane. ( AFP/CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)
T
he rapid development of the novel coronavirus has prompted several countries to evacuate their citizens from China’s Hubei province and officials in Jakarta have said they are ready to take such action if the government decides to do so.
Foreign Ministry acting spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said on Wednesday that the government was currently finalizing the evacuation plan for 243 Indonesians trapped in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province.
“Foreign Minister [Retno LP Marsudi] has asked our ambassador in Beijing to intensively communicate with the Chinese authorities so that China can facilitate the evacuation process of Indonesians from Hubei,” he said, adding that the request had also been passed to the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta.
Currently, Jakarta is waiting for an update from our mission in Beijing, Faizasyah said.
As of Wednesday Indonesia had no reported cases of the virus but lawmakers have been calling on the government to quickly repatriate Indonesian citizens from Wuhan. Indonesian students in Wuhan have also asked to return home.
Amid the unclear timeline for an evacuation, the Air Force is keeping three aircraft and health personnel on standby to evacuate Indonesian nationals at any time, awaiting instructions from the central government.
Air Force spokesman First Marshal Fajar Adriyanto said the aircraft, comprising two Boeing 737s and a C-130 Hercules, had the capacity to transport over 200 people.
