A specialised government task team has been set up to bring home South Africans who are currently living in Wuhan, China – the area which is now globally known as ground zero for coronavirus. The team will carry out a plan divided into three phases, namely evacuation, quarantine and reunification.

The task team will be led by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the department of International Relations and Cooperation.

Speaking to CapeTalk, the Acting Director-General of Health Dr Anban Pillay said that the massive mission will undertake to bring approximately 151 South Africans home.

“The evacuation plan is to identify those South Africans that would be able to come back from China particularly from Wuhan City by the South African military,” Pillay said.

Those brought in from Wuhan will be kept under quarantine for 21 days before being reintegrated into their lives as they were before leaving for China.

“It is important to emphasise the individuals who are returning are not infected,” he added. South African government is stepping in to bring South Africans in China home as they are unable to go out and buy supplies.

“The team will evaluate every passenger, and tested, and if positive will not be allowed to board the aircraft,” Pillay said.

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.