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Coronavirus: German air force evacuates citizens from Wuhan; gives China 10,000 protective suits
- The evacuees had been waiting anxiously overnight as the aircraft made its way to Wuhan with a team of paramedics
- The plane also carried aid for authorities battling to contain the coronavirus outbreak, including protective suits requested by China
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A German air force plane took off from Wuhan in central China on Saturday to evacuate more than 100 people trapped in the city, which has been shut off due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Luftwaffe flew an Airbus 310 to Wuhan via Moscow with a team of paramedics on board, landing in the early morning on Saturday.
One woman, who did not want to be identified, said the evacuees were anxious to depart as they had been waiting at the airport in Wuhan since Friday night for the plane to arrive in the early morning.
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“I’m happy to be at the gate,” she said. “It was all pretty exhausting until here.”
We survived the French, we survived the hippies – a virus from China will not kill us off right away.
Sources said that around 90 Germans and 40 other nationals, who included the partners of German citizens, were due to fly back.
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Several countries have already flown their citizens out of China, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Jordan and Britain. Portugal also sent a plane to fly out EU citizens.
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