Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrange for airlifting the Indians stranded in Wuhan province of China, the epicentre of coronavirus, saying the ground situation there has further worsened.
In a letter to Modi, Vijayan appealed that since the situation in Wuhan was grave, "It may be appropriate to consider operating a special flight to Wuhan / a nearby functional airport and airlift the Indian Nationals stranded there and bring them back to India."
Vijayan requested the Prime Minister to give necessary instructions to the Indian Embassy in China to act pro-actively and provide necessary assistance and reassurance to Indians, including Keralites, stranded in Wuhan and Yichang.
Around 288 people from China have returned to Kerala, with 281 of them being kept under surveillance at their homes. Seven people are kept in isolation wards in various hospitals as preventive measures as they showed symptoms like cough, anxiety and fever.
A total of 33,552 passengers traveling from China to India in 155 flights have been screened so far.
The Chief Minister also offered assistance of medical professionals from state in case of evacuation of the Indians from Wuhan.
Chinese health authorities have announced the death toll due to coronavirus has sharply increased to 80 with 2,744 confirmed cases.
The confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus officially described as 2019-nCoV included 461 patients who are in critical condition.
The Chief Minister had earlier written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, requesting steps to have a comprehensive assessment of the emerging situation and to provide necessary assistance to the people of Indian origin, most of whom are students of Wuhan
University.
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