VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Air Force has readied three aircraft for the evacuation of Indonesians from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

"We have readied two Boeing 737 and a C130 Hercules. The move is based on the result of our meeting two days ago with the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs; Health Ministry; and Foreign Affairs Ministry," a spokesman of the Indonesian Air Force Air Commodore Fajar Adriyanto stated here on Wednesday.

The Air Force has also readied personnel from its health battalion, equipped with necessary medical equipment, he noted.

However, the Air Force awaits further instruction from the Foreign Affairs Ministry over the permit from the Government of China, as Wuhan has been on lockdown since January 23 to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

"We are still waiting for the Foreign Affairs Ministry on whether they can obtain the permit from China. The Air Force is ready," Adriyanto stated.

He could not as yet confirm the number of Indonesians to be evacuated from ground zero of the outbreak, though stating that each aircraft can take 100 to 200 Indonesians.

"We have also prepared equipment for the crews to prevent transmission of the virus. Their food must be monitored and would be under quarantine upon their arrival," he stated.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has recorded 243 Indonesians in China’s Hubei Province, of which 100 are in Wuhan City.

As of Wednesday morning, the death toll in the coronavirus outbreak has reached 132 in China, while 103 patients received hospital discharge.

According to the local authority, 5,997 people in China had contracted the 2019-nCov, including eight in Hong Kong, seven in Macau, and eight in Taiwan.

Some 9,239 other people were suspected of having been infected by the virus, and one new case was found in the Autonomous Region of Tibet in the southwest of China.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Japanese and Americans were airlifted out of Wuhan, with Australia to follow suit. (ANTARA)