The presidency announced on Thursday, February 27th, 2020 that the government of South Africa would evacuate more than one hundred (100) of its citizens trapped in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed the repatriation of South African citizens from Wuhan city in Hubei province, China,

his office said in a statement.

The cabinet decided to bring back home 132 South Africans “after due consideration of the circumstances, and following several requests from the families of South Africans in the city.

More than 2,800 people have died as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, mostly in China, where it first surfaced last December and infected over eighty two thousand (82,000) people in about 50 countries.

The South African government estimates that there are one hundred and ninety nine (199) nationals in Wuhan, but

at this stage, 132 of them have expressed the desire to be repatriated.

The statement added that none of the South Africans in Wuhan have contracted the deadly virus or shown any symptoms. But the presidency said that the returnees will be subjected to “21 days as an additional precautionary measure” quarantine. However, the statement did not state when the evacuations would take place.

It further stated:

These compatriots are currently living under lockdown conditions following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.