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French citizens to be bused out of Wuhan to escape coronavirus, consulate says
- Evacuation plan outlined in email as diplomats look for ways to protect foreign nationals
- Paris earlier reports three cases on its soil – the first to be identified in Europe
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Foreign diplomats in Wuhan are scrambling to assess the situation in the coronavirus-plagued city, with French officials planning to evacuate French nationals trapped by the Chinese government’s lockdown.
The plan would allow French people who want to leave Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, to travel by bus to Changsha in neighbouring Hunan province, according to an email seen by the South China Morning Post.
“The consulate general, in collaboration with local authorities, plans to set up a bus service to allow French nationals … and their Chinese and foreign spouses and children to travel from Wuhan to Changsha,” it said.
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The email, sent by the French consulate, also asked anyone who received it to pass the notice on to other French nationals. It was not clear which bodies received the email and the date of the planned evacuation was not specified.
The consulate could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
France, the United States, Britain and South Korea all have consulates in Wuhan, according to China’s foreign ministry.
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