Foreign Ministry collecting information about Ukrainians wishing to leave China

Acting Director General of the Public Health Center Ihor Kuzin said this at a briefing on the situation on counteracting the spread of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, February 4.

"Yesterday, there was a meeting at the level of the Infrastructure Ministry, and it was agreed that the evacuation is most likely planned for this week. Information is being collected through the Foreign Ministry's channels and through the consulates operating in the People's Republic of China about those who wish to leave the country and be evacuated to Ukraine. Such a plane will most likely be able to come to the country this week, and this process will be completed," Kuzin said.

He said a number of technical issues were being addressed, adding that different carriers have been invited to join the process.

"At the moment, different companies are assessing potential risks and it will be decided who will deal with such transportation," Kuzin said.

He noted that among the Ukrainians who had returned from China earlier, 12 people contacted their doctors with various complaints.

"We receive information about all such cases every day. We currently have about 12 cases. These are patients who went to their doctor with a certain complaint about feeling unwell, but in no case was there even a suspicion of infection with the novel coronavirus. In all cases, a complete set of anti-epidemic investigations was conducted, and laboratory tests were performed, as required by clinical protocols," Kuzin said.

According to the World Health Organization, 20,606 cases of laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections were recorded around the world as of February 4, with 427 cases being lethal. Cases have been reported in China and 24 other countries. The WHO said the incubation period of the disease ranges from two to ten days.

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