Iranian flight evacuates students from China’s Wuhan

Dozens of Iranian students were flown back to the country by a Mahan Airlines plane from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak.

According to Tasnim news agency quoting the Adviser to the Iranian Health Minister Alireza Vahabzadeh, the plane left Tehran with a team of infectious disease doctors and special emergency response medics early Tuesday.

There were 70 Iranian students studying in Wuhan. They were flown home on Wednesday and will be kept for 14 days in quarantine in a special hospital in Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet that all Iranian students residing in China’s Wuhan have flown home.

“We are thankful to God that with the constant efforts of our colleagues in Beijing and Tehran, our dear students and compatriots residing in Wuhan, China, have flown home safely (and arrived) a few minutes ago. We appreciate the close cooperation and coordination among all organizations and institutions, especially the Ministry of Health and the Mahan Airways as well as the Chinese Government,” Mousavi wrote in the twitter post on Tuesday night.

On Monday, head of the Affiliation Center for Disease Control of Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education Mohammad Mehdi Gouya said no Iranian student in Wuhan has been infected with the coronavirus.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) has made several flights during past weeks to transport Iranians residing in China and Chinese residing in Iran.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Iran was willing to work together with China to combat the epidemic caused by the coronavirus.

Zarif also lauded the Chinese government for taking “timely and resolute measures in a responsible and transparent manner” to fight the epidemic, saying they have prevented not only a deterioration of the outbreak within China but also across the world.

Wang thanked Iran for providing China with medical supplies at the critical moment of epidemic prevention and control. He also praised Zarif as the first foreign minister publicly voicing support for China, saying it showed the friendship of the two nations, Xinhua news agency reported.

ME