Daily Times

BEIJING: More than 2,000 Pakistani students, who are studying at the Engineering and Science University of Wuhan and belong to Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), have sought help from the Chinese and Pakistani government officials for their evacuation from Wuhan after the outbreak of deadly contagious coronavirus.

New infections are being reported as major countries step up efforts to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan. The United States, Germany and France are among several countries planning to take such measures.

In a video message, a group of students stated that due to the deadly virus outbreak, Wuhan, the city of 11 million people and the epicentre of the virus outbreak in central China, is already in virtual lockdown and travel restrictions, and has been cut off from other provinces of China, and they have been facing severe shortage of food.

“There are close to 500 students in Wuhan alone. These numbers have to take into account the fact that many of our students come to China either on self financing or on the scholarships offered by the Chinese and they don’t always register with the Embassy. Similarly, our traders and other visitors from Pakistan also don’t always register with the Embassy. So the Embassy has an approximate estimation,” the statement says.

n a press release, the spokesperson reassured full support to the community and requested them to follow health protocols issued by Chinese authorities.

The press release said Foreign Ministry and Pakistan Embassy in China are actively monitoring the situation of Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China.