Permission not yet given for evacuation of 63 Myanmar scholars from Wuhan

31 January 2020
Permission not yet given for evacuation of 63 Myanmar scholars from Wuhan
An aerial view of the passenger planes and terminal building of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, 29 January 2020. Photo: EPA

The Myanmar embassy in China said that they had to await permission from the Chinese government for the evacuation of 63 Myanmar scholars stranded in Coronavirus-hit Wuhan.

The Myanmar government issued a press statement on January 30 saying permission was given for evacuation of 63 Myanmar scholars stranded in virus-hit Wuhan by charter flight via Changsha in Hunan Province but second secretary of Myanmar embassy in Beijing, Soe Pyae Win, said that the Chinese government had not yet contacted them in this regard.

“We don’t know yet the exact date for evacuation of these Myanmar scholars. 7-8 countries sent their proposals to Chinese government for evacuation of their nationals from China. We are one of those countries which are awaiting permission from the Chinese government,” he said.

The Directorate of Public Health under Ministry of Health and Sports issued a press statement which says that they have made plans for screening theMyanmar scholars coming back from China.

Japan and US have evacuated about 400 and 200 nationals respectively from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus, by charter flights.