Plane carrying Japanese evacuees from Wuhan lands in Tokyo

[TOKYO] A plane carrying Japanese nationals evacuated from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak, landed on Tuesday at a Tokyo airport.

An AFP reporter saw the plane arrive at Haneda airport around 8.45am (1145 GMT), with officials saying 206 people were on board.

Airport workers wearing face masks immediately began unloading luggage from the aircraft, and several buses pulled up, but there was no immediate sign of passengers leaving the plane.

Earlier, health ministry officials said medical professionals on board the flight would carry out health checks but that there were no plans to quarantine the arriving passengers.

The flight arrives as several countries work to extract their nationals from Wuhan, with an American charter flight also due to leave the city on Wednesday, bound for an airport in the Los Angeles area.

The Japanese flight arrived in Wuhan overnight carrying emergency relief supplies including 15,000 masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves and 8,000 protective glasses, the foreign ministry said.

Around four medical officials were also on board to monitor returning passengers.

Government officials said on Tuesday that evacuees would be asked to fill out a health questionnaire and that anyone displaying symptoms on the flight would be taken to hospital immediately upon arrival in Japan.

All passengers were expected to be tested for the new strain of coronavirus, which has killed more than 100 people and infected thousands.

The evacuees would be asked to remain at home and avoid crowds at least until the results of the test were known, officials said.

Those who live in and near Tokyo will be allowed to head home, while those living further away will be taken to local hotels initially.

Japan's health ministry has so far confirmed seven cases of the virus in the country, including one man who had not travelled to China.

The man from the western region of Nara had driven a tour bus with tourists from Wuhan twice in January, the health ministry said.

AFP