Emirates evacuates over 200 Arab nationals from Wuhan, China

The United Arab Emirates has shown its support for the Government of China in the face of the emergence of the coronavirus and has announced its willingness to "strengthen mutual political trust" between the two nations to contain the spread of the virus. In response to this situation, the UAE has coordinated the evacuation of at least 215 Arab citizens from the city of Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei Province and the initial focus of COVID-19, the Emirate news agency WAM reported Thursday. The evacuees will be taken to the Emirates Humanitarian City, where they will undergo tests and medical checks to ensure their safety. 

Upon arrival at the Emirates Humanitarian City, citizens will undergo a quarantine period of at least 14 days. The plane -- which is scheduled to land in the Emirates on Thursday, according to local media reports -- is carrying 215 people from Wuham. The aircraft is equipped with a HEPA cabin air filtration system, medical supplies and the necessary human and medical equipment to successfully carry out the evacuation process. 

This action has been taken in accordance with the directives of the President of the UAE, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Supreme Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two leaders agreed to establish a health centre to provide the necessary surveillance and medical care for Arab citizens evacuated from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. 

The Chinese government has been struggling since last December to contain the spread of the virus. The United Arab Emirates has decided to do its bit by coordinating the evacuation process together with the UAE embassy in China and the embassies of the countries concerned. Among the evacuees was a group of Sudanese students who were in Wuhan.  The Sudanese embassy in Beijing issued a statement explaining that "the evacuation will be carried out in accordance with the Emirati initiative, in accordance with the high directives and humanitarian gesture of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan". The UAE has offered its help to Sudan in solidarity with the complex transitional period the nation has been going through since the fall of Omar Hassan Al-Bashir's regime. 

The UAE authorities, who have announced that they will also evacuate Arab citizens from other countries, held a telephone meeting on Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which they decided to "push for the further development of bilateral relations". During this conversation, Xi Jinping said that "at a critical time when China is sparing no effort to combat the VID-19 outbreak, the Crown Prince has wasted no time in publicly expressing his support for China's efforts. He also stressed that the UAE "has on many occasions provided China with medical supplies, which fully reflects the deep friendship of supporting each other through thick and thin between the two nations and their high level of comprehensive bilateral strategic partnership. 

"China will continue to take effective measures to safeguard the life and health of foreigners in the country, including UAE citizens, and stands ready to work with the UAE to maintain close communication on the latest developments regarding COVID-19 and share its experience on the prevention and control of the epidemic", the Chinese leader added. 

In the telephone conversation, Xi Jinping praised the Crown Prince's visit to China last year and recalled that the two leaders had agreed on "important consensuses, and charted the course and direction for the development of bilateral relations in this new phase". In view of this situation, the Chinese President announced that "China is ready to join efforts with the UAE to continuously strengthen mutual political trust, deepen practical cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure, finance, investment and production capacity, within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and promote exchanges between peoples in order to foster the further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era between China and the UAE".
For his part, the Crown Prince expressed his concern about the outbreak of coronavirus in China and commended the actions taken by the Government to end the outbreak. Mohammed announced that "the UAE strongly supports China's fight against the epidemic and stands ready to provide further assistance". 

The Emirates Humanitarian City is a place created by the UAE to accommodate those affected by the coronavirus. The nation's Minister of Health and Prevention, Abdul Rahman Al Owais, explained during a press conference that "thanks to the wise leadership of the UAE, the authorities responsible for the health sector have completed all the technical work, medical preparations and logistics required to establish the health facility away from residential areas so that those affected can be housed in isolation and provided with treatment. "The medical area will have all the equipment and staff capable of handling any number of cases during the period of medical isolation that takes about 14 days", he stressed. 

The World Health Organization has explained that the coronavirus is a large family of viruses that can cause disease in both animals and humans. Specifically, COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the coronavirus that has been discovered in the wake of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The agency has also recommended taking a number of measures, such as frequent hand washing using an alcohol-based disinfectant or soap and water, or keeping up to date with the latest developments in COVID-19.