Coronavirus: Death toll crosses 80 in China, Air India jet on standby to evacuate Indians

The death toll from the outbreak of novel coronavirus in China rose to 81 on Monday, while the number of confirmed cases is 2,744.

Attempting to curb the spread, the Chinese government has announced an extension of the Lunar New Year holidays and postponed school openings. Traffic movement has also been restricted in several areas. Some businesses have told their employees to work from home.

To safely evacuate Indians currently in China, Air India has kept a Boeing 747 jet on standby in the Wuhan city, where the epidemic broke out and claimed the most number of lives. The authorities have shut down the entire city to prevent the spreading of the virus.

The aircraft is awaiting Centre's decision regarding the evacuations, according to an Air India official quoted by news agency ANI.

"Air India Boeing 747 is on standby for the evacuation of Indians from Wuhan (China) due to scare of Coronavirus. Carrier is waiting for the government the decision," the official told ANI on Monday.

Meanwhile, airports across India have screened over 29,707 passengers who arrived from China and didn't find a single case of coronavirus infection, the ministry of health informed.

Update on #nCoV2019 :

Total of 29,707 passengers from 137 flights screened.
4,359 passengers of 22 flights screened today. No case of #coronarvirus found till date.@PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @AshwiniKChoubey @WHOSEARO @MEAIndia @MoCA_GoI @AAI_Official @PIB_India @DDNewslive

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) January 26, 2020

On Sunday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday confirmed that no Indian in China has been affected by the virus so far. It also added that the Indian embassy in Beijing is in contact with the Indian citizens, including the students in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak and other areas of the Hubei province.

The confirmation was given by MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar who took to Twitter to inform that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is closely monitoring the situation. "We are also closely coordinating with Chinese authorities. As of now, we understand that no Indian citizens have been affected by the outbreak and that food and water supplies are available to them," Kumar tweeted.

2019-nCoV, a strain of coronavirus, has led to an outbreak of viral pneumonia. The virus is said to have originated in a seafood market in Whan, a Chinese city, illegally selling wildlife.