Over 4,000 Tourists From Virus-Stricken Wuhan Currently Abroad - Local Government

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2020) More than 4,000 residents of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, are currently beyond China's borders as part of tour groups booked before the city was quarantined, the city's local government said in a statement.

"Between January 24 and January 26, tour groups that had previously gone abroad have returned and a part of the tourists has already passed the epidemiological control and arrived in Wuhan. Currently 4,096 tourists from Wuhan are still abroad," the Wuhan municipality said in an open letter to tour operators and sister cities with an appeal for assistance.

According to the letter, the tour groups are scheduled to return to China within the coming several days.

According to the latest data from China's National Health Commission, 80 people have died from the virus in China. Over 2,700 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country. Cases of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus strain have been reported in other countries, including the United States.

On Sunday, China's National Health Commission director Ma Xiaowei told reporters that the spread of the virus appears to be accelerating despite mitigation efforts.