Group will be held in quarantine on an airbase in the mid-western state of Goiás

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Brazilian nationals evacuated from Wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus crisis, will land shortly in national territory and will be taken to an airforce base where they will be quarantined for 18 days.

The rescue comes after a video plea made to the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro last week. One of those in the video, Adrielly Eger, 18, a model, told the Band news network she was “very grateful”.

The 34 Brazilians, a mixed group of students, professionals, couples and children, should arrive at Anápolis airbase, 150km from the capital Brasília at 1am local time in an operation labelled Return to Homeland Brazil .

Play Video 2:13 'Contact is limited': inside the world's coronavirus quarantines – video

They will be isolated in transit hotels on the airbase, which according to local media will have access to video games, internet and the opportunity to watch military bands play live outside.

Roberto Naves, the mayor of Anápolis, which is in the mid-western state of Goiás, told local radio that residents of the city of 362,000 had first been apprehensive about hosting the evacuees but had no reason to worry.

But in a note, Sandro Mabel, the president of Goiás industry federation, called the quarantine a “disaster for the state”, arguing that they should be hosted somewhere else.

“We could suffer segregation of what is produced in Goiás, affecting the export of processed products and meat, for example,” he wrote.

Ronaldo Caiado, Goiás’ conservative governor and a staunch Bolsonaro ally, told reporters that Mabel’s comments were “inhumane” and called him a “scoundrel”.

Also travelling on the two planes from Wuhan were four Poles and a Chinese national, who disembarked during refuelling in Warsaw, Poland.

Quick guide What are coronavirus symptoms and should I go to a doctor? Show Hide What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic. What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes? According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment. About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19. In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

a new continuous cough - this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough? Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported that Brazil had refused to evacuate citizens from neighbouring South American nations including Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia.

In the article, one Argentinian diplomat speculated the preference for the Poles was “ideological”, with Bolsonaro favouring Poland’s Christian nationalist government.

Brazil’s foreign office – led by minister Ernesto Araújo, who believes climate change is a Marxist plot – refuted the claims saying there was not sufficient space and that Poland offered authorisation to refuel first.

Brazil declared the coronavirus a public health emergency earlier this week. According to the health ministry, there are eight possible coronavirus cases being monitored, while 24 cases have been dismissed.

The ministry has also been issuing regular online warnings about “fake news” relating to the virus, with one of the latest being that it is “similar to HIV” and “was created in a lab”.

Meanwhile, a woman in Rio de Janeiro was arrested for faking coronavirus symptoms and saying she had recently returned from Hong Kong in an attempt to jump the queue at a local health clinic.