India To Send IAF’s C-17 Aircraft To Evacuate Indian Nationals From Coronavirus-Hit Wuhan

In a bid to evacuate stranded Indian nationals from Coronavirus-hit Wuhan city of China, India is set to send a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Thursday (20 February), reports Asian News International (ANI).

The IAF's aircraft will take off for China’s Wuhan City, which has been worst hit by the widespread epidemic which has led to deaths of more than 2,000 people in mainland China alone.

Meanwhile, the count of those infected by the virus has surged to more than 74,000 in China. It should also be noted that the disease was first detected in Wuhan city itself which lies in the Hubei province of the nation. Since then it has spread to more than 20 nations across the globe, including India.

Earlier, India had evacuated over 600 of its nationals besides seven Maldivian citizens, from Wuhan in two special flights of the Air India. They were quarantined and kept in a facility in Haryana’s Manesar.

As per the reports, as many as 248 people who had been quarantined in Indian Army’s Manesar facility and were tested negative for the Coronavirus infection in the latest round of tests were discharged on Tuesday (18 February).