By: Sarwaralam
Sri Lanka foreign ministry said Tuesday it is waiting for a response from the Chinese authorities to operate a Sri Lankan airlines charter flight to Wuhan to evacuate some 32 Sri Lankan students and their relatives.
Colombo said there were roughly 860 Sri Lankan students in China.
Sri Lanka confirmed its first case on Monday — a 43-year-old Chinese tourist from Hubei province.
Thousands of foreigners were among millions of people confined in the central Chinese city of Wuhan when Beijing announced plans to stem the spread of novel coronavirus that has now claimed 213 lives nationwide.
On Friday, China’s National Health Commission said nearly 10,000 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus. Outside mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong, there have been at least 80 confirmed cases reported.
Outside mainland China, there have been more than 100 infections reported.
The World Health Organization has declared an international emergency over the outbreak.
