Buses believed to carry the US passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess leave at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan. (Reuters)
After consultation with HHS, the State Department decided to allow them onboard, but isolated them from the other passengers.
“These individuals were moved in the most expeditious and safe manner to a specialized containment area on the evacuation aircraft to isolate them in accordance with standard protocols,” it said.
“During the flights, these individuals will continue to be isolated from the other passengers.”
A circular by the provincial government said the health screening campaign should be strengthened and no one should be missed. Also, companies should not resume production unless allowed by local authorities. Those that have resumed work including public institutions should follow strict prevention measures. The measures came as the situation remains “grave”, the circular added.
Meanwhile, a 12 – member team of World Health Organization experts began assisting their Chinese counterparts to control the virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said international experts were now on the ground in China to understand the outbreak and inform the next steps in the global response.
Ghebreyesus also met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference. He said “given the misinformation about the novel coronavirus epidemic, WHO has communicated with some companies including Google to ensure that the public will get the authoritative information from the WHO”.
He said one of the goals of the joint mission is to rapidly inform the public of the next steps and preparedness activities in China and globally. “Particular attention will be paid to understanding the transmission of the virus, the severity of disease and the impact of ongoing response measures.”
In Beijing, the NHC said the joint mission will pay field visits in China’s three provincial-level regions to learn the implementation and effectiveness of the epidemic control measures.
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