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January 28, 2020 Around 250 French will be repatriated from the Chinese region of Wuhan on the first plane departing from Europe tomorrow, while over 100 European citizens of other nationalities will take their seats on the second flight scheduled for the week. The European Commission communicated this by specifying that other requests for assistance could be sent by the countries in the coming days. Only healthy or asymptomatic citizens will be allowed to travel, they specify in Brussels.

France asks for help
The European Union activated the civil protection mechanism after a request for assistance from France to provide consular support to EU citizens in Wuhan, China. The EU will co-finance the costs of transporting citizens. The first plane is expected to depart from France tomorrow morning, while the second will depart in the coming days of the week. EU citizens present in the region and who wish to be repatriated can still request it regardless of their nationality. According to the figures provided by the Commission, around 250 French citizens will be transported on the first plane and over 100 EU citizens from other countries will join the second plane. This is the first request for assistance from member states, other requests may arrive in the coming days.

European civil protection
"Our EU Emergency Response Coordination Center works 24/7 and is in constant contact with Member States, EU delegations in the region and the Chinese Embassy in Brussels. EU support can be mobilized if requested, "said Janez Lenari, Commissioner for Crisis Management.

Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner responsible for health and food safety, added that the EU is ready "to support Member States and ensure a strong and coordinated EU response to the developing situation of the coronavirus, outside and outside within the Union. We will continue to monitor the situation closely with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and will remain in close contact with our Member States. "