China to send charter flights to bring back overseas citizens from virus-hit Wuhan

China will send charter flights to bring home residents of coronavirus-hit Hubei province, especially capital Wuhan, from abroad, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying in a brief statement said citizens from Hubei province will be brought back in view of “practical difficulties” they were facing abroad.

The move followed Chinese officials’ announcement that about five million people from Hubei province and capital Wuhan, the epicentre of coronavirus, have travelled out of the region before the province was officially closed on January 23.