OTTAWA—The federal government has chartered a plane but still needs China’s permission to fly Canadians out of that country’s coronavirus quarantine zone, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday. New Zealand, the United Kingdom and France are among other countries planning to fly citizens home. Amid China’s efforts to clamp down on movement and stop the virus from spreading, Canada temporarily closed its visa application centres across China on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Air Canada cancelled all of its flights to China as the federal government advises all Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to mainland China. Ontario’s health ministry also reported that 23 people are “under investigation” for the coronavirus, up from 19 people on Monday.

Source: thestar January 29, 2020 19:16 UTC