Coronavirus: Brazil to declare emergency and evacuate citizens from Wuhan
- President Jair Bolsonaro was against such a move, but changed his mind after Brazilians in outbreak epicentre posted YouTube video asking for help
- Chartered plane will be sent to pick up 40 of the 55 citizens who have asked to leave
Alarmed by the growing risks of a new coronavirus, Brazil has decided to repatriate Brazilians from Wuhan, China, and will declare a national health emergency, Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said on Monday.
A chartered plane would be sent to pick up 40 of the 55 Brazilians in Wuhan who have asked to be evacuated from the city at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak, Mandetta said. They would be quarantined for 18 days at a military base, he said.
President Jair Bolsonaro said last week that repatriating Brazilians from Wuhan would not be “opportune” as it could put the population back home at risk. But he changed his mind over the weekend when Brazilians in Wuhan posted a video appealing to Bolsonaro to get them out.
In their six-minute video posted on YouTube, the Brazilians noted that other nations were preparing to evacuate their citizens with the help of Chinese authorities, and they pleaded with Bolsonaro and Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo to rescue them.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro said his government will evacuate every Brazilian from Wuhan who wants to return home. He is expected to issue a decree by Tuesday to authorise the quarantine steps and speed up the repatriation of Brazilians.