The CDC says it's involved in trying to evacuate US citizens from Wuhan
From CNN's Nadia Kounang
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is involved in a coordinated US government effort to help US citizens leave Wuhan.
"Department of State has the lead for the safe and expedient ordered departure of all US citizens from Wuhan, China. CDC is aware and coordinating in the planning,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told CNN.
Americans offered seats on chartered flight out of Wuhan, but they will have to pay, source says
From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing
The US consulate reached out to Americans registered with the consulate and offered them seats on a flight, which will have medical personnel on board, according to a US official with knowledge of the matter.
There are about 1,000 Americans living in Wuhan and those who choose to evacuate with diplomats will be billed for the flight, the source said.
He disputed the Wall Street Journal's description that "any available seats might be offered to non-US citizens and diplomats of other nations," saying that non-US citizens would only be allowed to take the flight if they are related or married to Americans.
He added that other diplomats from countries such as South Korea and the United Kingdom are arranging their own transportation out of Wuhan.
He also said the WSJ description of the aircraft size was not entirely accurate as officials were still deciding between a narrow-body Boeing 737 and a wide-body Boeing 767.
Asked why the US is evacuating its diplomats and citizens from Wuhan while no such action was taken during the height of the SARS epidemic that hit China in 2003, this official said, "I think we all learned our lesson from SARS."
US orders charter flight to evacuate diplomats out of China - source
By Veronica Stracqualursi and Steven Jiang
The US government is arranging a charter flight to evacuate diplomats from the Chinese city that has become ground zero for a new deadly strain of coronavirus, a US official with knowledge of the matter told CNN Saturday.
The United States has a contract with a transporter to evacuate diplomats from the US consulate in Wuhan, China. The consulate is closed and all US diplomats are "under ordered departure," the official said.
Details of the flight plan are still being finalized and the source said "a lot depends on what the Chinese authorities will allow us to do," adding that Beijing has been "very cooperative."
The State Department and White House have not yet responded to CNN's inquiry regarding the matter.
China calls off all tours amid Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing.
Empty buses seen in Wuhan on January 24, 2020. Getty Images
The China Association of Travel Services reports that all tours, including international ones, will be suspended starting Monday.
Domestic group and packaged tours were stopped on Friday.
9:38 a.m. ET, January 25, 2020
Confirmed cases rise to 1,400
There are now 1,400 confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus around the world.
There is one new case in Hubei and two new cases in Hainan, according to Chinese authorities, pushing the total in mainland China to 1,362.
9:15 a.m. ET, January 25, 2020
Where the virus has spread worldwide
There are 38 confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus in 13 places outside mainland China.
Here's the tally:
Australia -- 4
France -- 3
Hong Kong -- 5
Thailand -- 5
Singapore -- 3
US -- 2
Taiwan -- 3
Macao -- 2
Malaysia -- 3
Nepal -- 1
Japan -- 3
Vietnam -- 2
South Korea -- 2
9:44 a.m. ET, January 25, 2020
French nationals to be evacuated from Wuhan
From Antoine Crouin in Paris
French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced the evacuation. Photo by Olivier Douliery / AFP
The French government says it’s planning to set up a bus service to move French nationals out of Wuhan.
The country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday it is being set up “in conjunction with the local authorities.”
“The Consulate General of France in Wuhan has informed French nationals in Wuhan that it plans to set up, in conjunction with the local authorities, a bus service," he said, which would allow French nationals and their families "to leave the city of Wuhan."
Asked by CNN how the evacuation plan would work given the lockdown of Wuhan, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Affairs Department said: “We have sought a solution in agreement with the Chinese, I cannot give more details on the process, but it will work.”
8:27 a.m. ET, January 25, 2020
Hong Kong Marathon and other major events are cancelled
From CNN's Jennifer Hauser and Sharif Paget in Atlanta
Participants take part in the 2017 iteration of the Hong Kong Marathon. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
A marathon that was due to take place in Hong Kong in a couple of weeks has been canceled by its organizers amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers' said.
The event's 70,000 participants will get refunds.
This comes as Hong Kong raised its response level to the virus to "emergency," and the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said all large-scale events, including the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, will be canceled.
"Public health is our top priority. To support the government’s epidemic prevention efforts, the organiser has decided to cancel the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon originally scheduled for 8 and 9 February," read a statement from the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on its website and Facebook page Saturday.
Many Facebook users agreed with the decision to cancel the race.
Vivo Wong wrote: "wise decision -- I can't imagine it being an easy decision for the organisers. Health & safety is of utmost importance. There will always be next year."
Several runners posted on social media that they had been looking forward to receiving the race's finisher medal, which commemorates the Year of the Rat.
One user, ImEe LoVe, responded to the organization's Facebook page saying: "please send us the Year of the Rat medal and runners pack. We don't need the refund."
Another user, Matthew Lee, wrote: "Yeah, can we have the medals back. We have prepared for months and at least deserve that part."
7:59 a.m. ET, January 25, 2020
Indian students trapped in Wuhan fear running out of food
From CNN’s Vedika Sud in New Delhi
Indian students stand outside the foreign dormitory entrance at Wuhan Medical University.
Fifty-six Indian students have been trapped in Wuhan for three days, with some afraid to leave their dorm room and fearful of running out of food.
Ganesan Deepshikha, a student at the Wuhan University School Of Medicine, told CNN that the students have been told by the Indian Embassy that they are safe in Wuhan but have not received any assistance.
Normally a transport hub for central China, Wuhan has been closed off from the rest of the country since Thursday -- when the city was placed on lockdown.
Public transport has been shut down and car travel restricted.
Deepshikha told CNN that 25 to 30 among the group of Indian students at the Wuhan University are refusing to leave their dorm room, despite having only enough food for one more day.
Two campus hospitals at the Wuhan University have been treating patients suffering from Wuhan coronavirus -- with one such hospital just 300 meters from the dorm where the Indian students have sequestered themselves.