Fourth Charter Jet to Evacuate Japanese Citizens From Wuhan Departs From Tokyo - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2020) The fourth government-chartered plane that is set to evacuate Japanese nationals from China's coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan left Tokyo on Thursday, media reported, citing the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Three previous evacuation flights conducted in late January repatriated over 500 people. Currently, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country stands at 45, with 10 of them being passengers of a cruise ship that has been quarantined off the Japanese coast since Monday.

The fourth evacuation jet departed from Tokyo's Haneda Airport at 8 p.

m. local time (11:00 GMT) and will arrive in Wuhan at midnight local time (15:00 GMT), the NHK broadcaster reported. The plane is expected to return to Tokyo with about 200 people aboard, including Chinese spouses of Japanese nationals.

According to the media, a team of medical workers is also on the flight to Wuhan to assist evacuees.

According to the latest data, the new strain of the coronavirus has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected in China in December. The epidemic has already left more than 28,000 people infected and over 560 dead, the vast majority of them in China.