Passengers from Wuhan to be sent back, Civil Aeronautics Board say

MANILA, Philippines — Passengers from Wuhan, China, where the new virus outbreak originated from, will be repatriated, the Civil Aeronautics Board said Friday.

In a phone patch interview with CNN Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said tourists from Wuhan, China will be sent back to their countries in flights scheduled on Friday, Saturday and Monday.

“They will be repatriated tomorrow because although we advised suspension of all flights of Philippine carriers to Wuhan effective yesterday, there was an exception, the flights tomorrow and on the 27th,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Arcilla later added that there is also a flight for repatriation on Friday.

The CAB official said the flights have clearance from Wuhan to transport the passengers back. The plane will not have passengers when it travels back to the Philippines.

Royal Air Charter and Pan Pacific Airlines have flights to and from Wuhan, China.

Arcilla assured the public that the passengers are under monitoring of the Department of Health.

“So far, there is no record of someone with fever or infection,” he said in Filipino.

Arcilla earlier said that CAB will continue to monitor flights from other cities in China.

CAB also issued an advisory Thursday calling on carriers with flights coming directly or connecting from China to secure a health declaration checklist from the Bureau of Quarantine.

The announcement came after Wuhan—home to 11 million people—was put on effective lockdown. Planes and trains out of the city were canceled, with public buses and subways suspended and residents ordered not to leave “without a special reason.”

At least 584 cases of 2019-nCoV, including 17 deaths, have been reported to the WHO. Almost all (98.45%) of which were reported in China.

The virus has also been confirmed in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Macau and the United States. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from Agence France-Presse