Spain To Quarantine Citizens Returning From China's Wuhan - Health Official

MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2020) Spain is preparing to quarantine its citizens who will be airlifted from the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a Health Ministry official said Wednesday.

"They will be assessed by specialists upon return to Spain. If they show no symptoms that require isolation they will be quarantined in places that we are readying for this purpose," Fernando Simon, the ministry's chief coordinator for health emergencies, told the state-run TVE channel.

The Spanish government said earlier it wanted to book seats for 20 Spaniards on planes that France will use to fly its citizens out of China. The return date is still uncertain.

Similar evacuations are being prepared by other countries. The United States will reportedly hold Americans for up to two weeks at a military base, while Australia will isolate hundreds of its nationals on Christmas Island in a joint operation with New Zealand.