The first set of Indian citizens trapped in the coronavirus-struck Wuhan was evacuated yesterday in an Air India special B747 flight that departed from Delhi for Wuhan city in China's Hubei province. 324 passengers landed in the national capital today morning.

An Air India spokesperson reportedly stated earlier today, "Another flight will depart to Wuhan from Delhi at 12.50 pm today with a different set of crew, same doctors' team with other aircraft. The rescue team is again headed by Capt Amitabh Singh, Director Operation, Air India." A facility has been set up near Manesar, Haryana, to quarantine approximately 300 citizens who will be arriving in India and will be monitored for at least 14 days by a team of qualified doctors and staff members. The coronavirus death toll has risen to 259, with approximately 12000 confirmed cases globally, where 200 cases among them are outside mainland China, including India, Australia, France, Germany, the United States, and 16 other countries.

As the death toll and overall cases have been rising rapidly across the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency. "Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," a WHO chief reportedly said.