Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has extended its gratitude to Turkey for airlifting its citizens along with Turkish citizens from China’s coronovirus-hit Wuhan region.

In her Twitter post, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said that the plane evacuated citizens of both countries from the Chinese city of Wuhan in accordance with the decision of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“This is another example of fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey," she said.

Abdullayeva also said that the Azerbaijani citizens’ health condition is satisfactory according to the medical examination that they went through before the departure from China, adding that after a two-week quarantine in Turkey, they will be able to return to Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan also expresses gratitude to the Chinese government for the assistance and support rendered to Azerbaijani citizens and expresses solidarity in these difficult days with China and friendly Chinese people,” she added.

The Turkish Armed Forces' A400M type cargo plane departed from Wuhan airlifted 42 people with 32 Turkish citizens, along with the citizens of Azerbaijan (six), Albania (one), and Georgia (three) after health staff confirmed they did not carry any symptoms related to the fatal outbreak.

In the meantime, five other Azerbaijani citizens have arrived in Baku by transit flights via Istanbul and Moscow and have been placed under quarantine in Clinical Medical Center in Baku, Azerbaijani Health Ministry and the State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance said in a joint statement on February 4.

Earlier on February 1, the Minister of Education of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov reported that seven Azerbaijani students refused to return from China where quarantine was announced in connection with the spread of coronavirus.

As he informed, MFA as well as and the Azerbaijani embassy in China are constantly in touch with those citizens.

Bayramov reminded that some 500 Azerbaijani young people are receiving education in China.

“Most of them are already in Azerbaijan. Some students have been transported to other Chinese cities. Despite the serious danger, they chose to stay. But all state bodies keep this issue under control and there’s no problem with their return to the homeland," he stated.

In the meantime, Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency has imposed a temporary ban on the import of animals (including animals for the zoo and wild animals), as well as fish and seafood into the country within the fight against the virus.

The regional branches of the Agency, as well as the laboratories of the Azerbaijan Food Safety Institute, have intensified their work.

In addition, measures are being taken to prepare a list of food products having the risk of transmitting the virus. The control measures are being taken in the shops, in particular, the control over bird hunting and their consumption has been strengthened.

The 2019-nCoV coronavirus was detected in December 2019 in the Chinese Wuhan city. Infection has already been registered in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, France, Australia, Malaysia, Germany and Finland.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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