“We are in contact with the citizens and are cooperating with other European countries to seek to strengthen support for the retained Portuguese compatriots,” said a source from the office of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Berta Nunes, cited by the Lusa agency.
One of the scenarios on the table, according to the same source, would be to remove Portuguese citizens from the epicenter of the epidemic: “If this is feasible in light of public health rules”.The United States is preparing to send a flight charter this Sunday for the Wuhan region, with the mission of removing US citizens, including diplomatic personnel.
The Portuguese embassy has been contacting Portuguese. In Wuhan, 20 citizens were identified, including residents or visiting the city. Of this group, the Government said, “14 people were already registered as residents in Wuhan at the Portuguese embassy in Beijing”.
Portugal’s diplomatic representation in China refers “to the recommendations made in the Portuguese Communities Portal”. There, the authorities advise travelers to reconsider “making non-essential trips” to the Asian country.
“In general, travelers should remain alert to the constant evolution of the situation, as well as to the information published on the portals of the Directorate-General for Health, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization”, it is read in the same text.
It is also advisable to register travel in the Travel Registration application.
Also according to the Secretary of State for Communities, the Portuguese embassy in Beijing ensures “close monitoring of all developments, through dialogue with Chinese government authorities, with the European Union delegation in China and with embassies in other countries, having also participated in meetings with representatives of the World Health Organization in China ”.
As part of the response to the spread of the 2019-nCoV virus, the action of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China is coordinated by the embassy in Beijing, “In conjunction with other Portuguese consular representations in the country (Macau, Shanghai and Guangzhou) and with the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities, in Lisbon”.
The “most critical” point
The first cases of the new coronavirus were diagnosed in December in the city of Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province; symptoms are more intense than the flu, including fever, pain, malaise and breathing difficulties, or shortness of breath.The coronavirus has already killed 41 people on Chinese soil and infected more than 1300 in several countries.
2019-nCoV infection cases have also been confirmed in Macau, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, United States, Malaysia, France and Australia.
In the past week, Chinese authorities have banned the entry and exit of Wuhan and several cities in the region, restrictive measures that have reached more than 50 million Chinese. Already this Saturday they ordered that only emergency vehicles can circulate in the epicenter city.
Meantime, the Beijing Government decided to suspend organized travel in China and abroad. As of Monday, Chinese travel agencies will no longer be able to sell hotel reservations or group travel, the CCTV television station reported.
The authorities of the Asian colossus understand that the country is now facing the “most critical” point in terms of prevention and control of the virus. There are a total of 13 quarantined cities.
w / agencies
– .
