FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a mask walks in the Chinatown district of downtown Toronto, Ontario, after 3 patients with novel coronavirus were reported in Canada January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will evacuate some 160 of its citizens from the Chinese region that is the epicenter for the new coronavirus, and it is urging other Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to China, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the country is in the process of obtaining diplomatic approval for the flight, and added that he did not know how many days it would take to complete the evacuation.