WASHINGTON — Two planes with about 300 passengers, mostly U.S. citizens, took off from the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday bound for the United States — the third group of evacuees from the heart of the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. State Department said. The first evacuation flight from Wuhan, carrying 195 State Department employees, their family members and other Americans, arrived Jan. 29 at March Air Reserve Base near Los Angeles. The United States and other countries have stepped up efforts to evacuate their citizens from China, where the coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 30,000 people and killed at least 600, most in and around Wuhan. Twelve cases have been confirmed in the United States, none fatal. Just two cases are known to have been transmitted person-to-person within the United States – both spouses of individuals who were infected abroad.

Source: National Post February 07, 2020 04:52 UTC