Beijing (CNN) Two flights evacuating hundreds of US citizens from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China appear to have departed for the United States, according to officials. "Two planes have departed Wuhan en route to the United States," a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday evening. These are the second and third such flights from Wuhan that were arranged by the US government in roughly the past week. More than 24,000 cases of Wuhan coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide , including 11 in the United States. The State Department tweeted it "may be staging flights" on Thursday and interested citizens should contact it by email.

Source: CNN February 04, 2020 14:48 UTC