Stranded Indian woman in China's virus-hit Wuhan city appeals for evacuation

An Indian woman techie has appealed to the Indian government to evacuate her from China's virus-hit Wuhan city, days after she was stopped from boarding the special New Delhi-bound flights due to high body temperature.

The woman was among 10 Indians who were stopped from boarding the special Air Indian flights last Friday and Saturday organised by the India government to evacuate stranded Indians from Wuhan.

The Indian Embassy is in touch with the Indians who could not be evacuated along with 647 others due high body temperature, officials here said.

One of them, Annem Jyothi hailing from Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, made a video appeal to the Indian government to arrange her exit from the city, saying that her body temperature is normal now and she is fit to travel.

She was part of a group of 58 Indian employees of a Chinese electronic company to board the Friday flight. While others made it, she and her colleague could not do so due to high body temperatures, she said.

"We are asked to stop and not to take the flight. They said that we can take the next flight. But today in the afternoon they called and said that we were not even allowed to take that flight because of yesterday’s body check…We are stuck," said the mask wearing young woman who is in her 20s.

The video was reportedly made on Saturday when the second AI flight evacuated 323 Indians from Wuhan.

"We are ready to prove that we don't have any virus because we don't have any symptoms," she said.

She said her body temperature was not very high. "It was just some 37.5 degrees which was due to some physical activities under some strain at that time. We were panicked a bit," she added.

"We request our government to take us back to India and for that we are ready to prove that we don’t have any symptoms regarding the virus and we are safe and healthy. So, I request the government to take us back to India,” she added.

Two Indian students - Ajith, a student from Bihar, and Manzoor from Kashmir - who were stopped due to the same reason also said they have no fever now.

Both made similar appeal while talking to PTI over phone and said their body temperatures are normal and they're fit to travel.

India has evacuated its 647 citizens from Wuhan and Hubei province along with seven Maldivians. The evacuated persons are now undergoing a 14-day quarantine in an army run special camp near Delhi.

Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri said about 100 Indians may still be residing in Hubei province.

Twenty-five Indians reportedly preferred to stay back when they were approached by the Indian Embassy for evacuation.

Indian officials here said they are in touch with the 10 stranded Indians. It appears that their evacuation may be difficult as the city and the province where the virus is increasingly turning virulent have been virtually sealed.

China's National Health Commission on Monday said the death toll from the virus outbreak rose to 361 on Sunday while 2,829 new cases of coronavirus were reported nationwide on February 2, taking the total number of infected people to 17,205.