TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After denying them evacuation from coronavirus-ravaged Wuhan for a week, Communist China finally allowed over 200 Taiwanese businesspeople to board a charter jet that landed in Taoyuan on Monday evening (Feb. 3), and three have been found to have fevers.

After denying Taiwanese evacuation requests for a week, the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) finally permitted 247 Taiwanese businesspeople to board a China Eastern Airlines charter jet at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport on Monday. The jet was slated to take off at 6:50 p.m. but did not actually get airborne until 9:40 p.m. due to the long process of confirming the personal information of each passenger.

When the jet arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at around 11:40 p.m., three of the passengers were found to have a fever, and one child (accompanied by a parent) was suffering from abdominal pain. All five were sent to a negative pressure isolation ward, reported CNA.



Plane enters hangar. (CNA photo)

After more than three hours of individual screening inside a specially designated hangar, the remaining 242 passengers were transported to assigned housing areas to undergo 14 days of quarantine. The Central Epidemic Command Center CECC revealed on Sunday (Feb. 2) that the evacuees will be housed in three to four isolated military barracks, as well as government agencies’ unused meeting and lodging facilities, while Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) indicated on Sunday afternoon that some would be housed at Bank of Taiwan dormitories in Yangmingshan.

Hsu Cheng-wen (徐正文), who heads the Parents Association in Taipei, told CNA that 501 Taiwanese remain in Hubei Province. Hsu said that a second flight to evacuate more Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan and elsewhere in the communist country is slated to take off on Wednesday (Feb. 5), with a third flight waiting in the wings if needed.



Medical personnel preparing to screen passengers. (CNA photo)



Passengers stepping off charter jet. (CNA photo)



Ambulances at the ready. (CNA photo)