By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) – A plane is expected to fly to Vietnam Monday before proceeding on to China to pick up 325 Canadians.
Canadian officials said Monday they are awaiting permission to land at Wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.
“It will land in Hanoi, Vietnam and deploy to Wuhan, where the airspace is currently closed, once the Government of China has given authorization to land,” Canadian officials said in a statement.
Canadian Armed Forces medical staff will also be on board the chartered plane.
The 325 passengers being airlifted home will land at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario, where they will undergo health screening and be quarantined for 14 days.
Canadians who have already showed symptoms of the virus in China will not be allowed on the plane, officials said.
“The government of Canada takes the health and safety of Canadians, both at home and abroad, very seriously,” said Foreign Minister Francois Philippe Champagne in a statement.
“We are talking action to return Canadians home from Wuhan, China, while ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to prevent and limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.”
Canadian Health officials will hold a press conference Monday to update citizens on the coronavirus situation in Canada. Officials have said four cases have been diagnosed so far.
More than 17,000 have been diagnosed worldwide and there have been 362 deaths to date.
