US to evacuate diplomats, citizens from Wuhan amid Coronavirus scare: Reports

Washington : The United States is making arrangements to evacuate its citizens and diplomats from Wuhan in China, where a coronavirus has gripped the people. More than 40 people have lost their lives and nearly thousands are battling with the new kind of infection which might have got transmitted from the animals.

A charter plane with around 230 people, including diplomats and American citizens, will fly on Sunday, reported Wall Street Journal.

Washington was given approval for the operation from China's Foreign Ministry and other government agencies following negotiations in recent days, the newspaper said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said that on Thursday, the State Department had ordered the departure of family members and all U.S. government employees at its Wuhan consulate, but declined to comment on the report that other U.S. citizens would be evacuated from the city.

The decision to move U.S. consulate staff and families was due to the outbreak of the coronavirus "and logistical disruptions stemming from restricted transportation and overwhelmed hospitals in the city of Wuhan," the spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Reuters.