Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said about 270 people were being evacuated on a flight with some health officials and 18 crew on board. So we expected that it might take longer on the ground, and we have planned for that,” Joyce told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. Wuhan in Hubei province has been in lockdown to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 304 people in China. The first death from the virus outside China was reported on Sunday in the Philippines. Australia on Saturday followed the United States in barring entry to all foreign nationals traveling from mainland China and raised its travel warning for China to the highest level, advising people against visiting the country at all.

Source: National Post February 02, 2020 21:56 UTC