The Coronavirus has caused a disruption of travel to and from China, as the city of Wuhan, the origin place of the epidemic, finds itself under quarantine. Ministries of foreign affairs of European countries have been attempting to find ways to get their co-nationals back home from Wuhan.
The Dutch citizens, who last week were still caught up in Wuhan, have finally arrived home in the Netherlands last night.
Long road
The 15 Dutch did not come back alone to Europe, being accompanied by a diverse group of Danes, Czechs, Swedes, Poles, Belgians and French. The group first had to meet at the French Consulate in Wuhan on Saturday, afterwards being taken by bus to the airport and flown to Belgium.
No coronavirus symptoms among these 17 evacuees. They’ll spend two weeks in quarantine as a precaution #Netherlands https://t.co/jSr15xpcpD
— anna holligan ? (@annaholligan) February 3, 2020
Note: There are 15 Dutch nationals plus two Chinese spouses, which is strange considering that the Chinese policy thus far has been not to allow Chinese people to leave the country.
Once arrived in Belgium, the Dutchies travelled to Eindhoven by bus, and are now currently in Huis ter Heide, in a situation of quarantine.
Not all the Dutch present in Wuhan accepted the offer to be evacuated by plane, and out of the 20 Dutch nationals registered there, 5 have decided to stay. At least 2 of them, a Dutch man and his son, decided to stay as the man’s spouse is Chinese, and she is not allowed to leave the country, reports NOS.
Any sick reported among the Dutchies?
As of now, none of the 15 Dutch nationals have shown any symptoms of the Coronavirus. It has been decided by the Ministry of Health that the Dutch who arrive from China need to go through a two-week quarantine period.
The circumstances of their quarantine are not yet known, but there might be the option for them to be able to stay at home during the quarantine, or otherwise in a centrally planned location.
Thankfully, it’s been decided to reimburse the Dutch nationals for the travel costs, as well as for the costs of the quarantine, with the share being paid by the European Union and the Netherlands.
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Feature Image: Jyi1693/ Wikimedia Commons
