France said on Sunday it expected to evacuate hundreds of its citizens from the Wuhan area in China, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak.
"French citizens will be repatriated by airplane to France, with the agreement of Chinese authorities. This will take place midweek," French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told reporters.
France expects to repatriate up to a few hundred of its 800 citizens living in the Wuhan area. Evacuees will have to spend 14 days in quarantine to avoid spreading the virus in France.
Buzyn said any decision to ban flights from China would have to be taken by the European Union and rejected calls for temperature screening of passengers flying in from China as ineffectual.
An ambulance driving in to the Bichat hospital in Paris where a Chinese couple are being treated for the coronavirus, January 25, 2020. /AP Image
She said screening gives an impression of security, but serves no purpose because symptoms can emerge later and aspirin can temporarily lower body temperature.
"Proof is that the three patients with confirmed coronavirus in France would not have been spotted with a temperature scan. They all arrived here without a fever and developed symptoms of the illness later," she said.
France's evacuation plan came after the U.S. government offered details on a plan to evacuate American diplomats and other citizens from Wuhan on Sunday.
China has made arrangements to help facilitate the operation in accordance with international norms and China's epidemic control rules, said Hua Chunying, foreign ministry spokeswoman, on Sunday.
French automaker PSA also revealed on Sunday that it is evacuating its expat staff and their families from the Wuhan area. They will be quarantined in the city of Changsha before traveling back to their home countries.
(With input from Reuters)
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