Coronavirus: Australia evacuates 243 people from China as deaths mount

The evacuees will be quarantined in a detention centre on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean

Australia has barred entry to all foreign nationals travelling from mainland China

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A medical facility at the North West Point Detention Centre on Christmas Island. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:02pm, 3 Feb 2020Updated: 1:08pm, 3 Feb 2020

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said 243 citizens and permanent residents were evacuated from Wuhan on Monday on an Australian government-chartered aircraft, fleeing the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak which has killed 362 people.

The 243 people will be quarantined in a detention centre on a remote island in the Indian Ocean off Australia’s northwest coast. The Australian-run centre has in the past been used to detain asylum seekers.

“We have prioritised vulnerable and isolated Australians which is reflected in the fact that 89 of the Australians on the flight are under 16 and five are under two,” Payne told reporters in Canberra.

All passengers and crew were being given masks and hand sanitiser, and the crew were being told to remain on the upper deck of the plane other than for manning the doors. The aircraft has medical grade air filters, which eliminate 99% of particles, including viruses, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.

“It’s a lot safer, a lot cleaner than being in a restaurant, in an office,” he said.

The Qantas Airways plane had been scheduled to leave Wuhan late on Sunday but experienced some delays as China checked the temperatures of those departing.