Two people from Andhra Pradesh, stranded in coronavirus-affected Wuhan city of China, have appealed to the Centre to evacuate them, IANS reported on Monday. Annem Naga Jyothi and Satya Sai Krishna were among the six who were not allowed to board the second Air India flight that brought back more than 300 Indians on Sunday as they had high fever.
Jyothi and Krishna, part of a team of 58 engineers of a technology firm, were only the ones left behind in China. The woman, a resident of Kurnool district, is due to be married on February 14. A video of her appeal to be evacuated has been widely shared on social media. Both of them are currently being put up in a dormitory provided by POPTL.
“We were supposed to take the first flight but were stopped from doing so in the last minute as we had a high body temperature,” Jyothi said. “When we were preparing to board the second flight, we were informed that we could not be taken on this flight either.”
She said that the Chinese authorities had not confirmed that they were affected by the virus and could therefore be evacuated. Jyothi said that their body temperature had gone back to normal and expressed willingness to take tests to prove they were not affected. “I am very healthy,” she said. “Please take me back to India.”
Jyothi’s mother, Prameela, has also urged the central government to do something to bring back her daughter.
Watch: Indian students evacuated from coronavirus-hit Wuhan dance at quarantine facility in Manesar
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Coronavirus outbreak: Toll rises to 361, over 17,000 infected; Chinese markets plummet
India has evacuated over 640 citizens from Wuhan, which has emerged as the epicentre of the outbreak. However, about 10 people, including the two from Andhra Pradesh, were reportedly left behind in the Chinese city.
At least 361 people have died so far in China, most of them in Hubei province, while 17,205 people have been infected. The number of deaths in China has now exceeded the total Chinese toll from the 2002-’03 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. SARS was another coronavirus that had emerged from China and killed almost 800 people around the world.
The virus has spread to 23 countries, including India, which reported its third positive case on Monday in Kerala. Several countries have banned flights to and from China, restricted travel, and in some cases, closed their borders with the country.
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