TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has confirmed that the government is making preparations to evacuate Indonesian citizens from Wuhan’s adjoining cities. "In fact, we, the government, have prepared to conduct the evacuation. However, Wuhan has become an isolated area, so no one can enter or leave. As a consequence, everything in on hold, pending the stance of the Chinese Government," Amin remarked here on Wednesday.

The government will evacuate Indonesian citizens from Wuhan, where the corona virus originated, once the isolation status in the city is revoked, he explained.

The Indonesian government is also awaiting information from the World Health Organization (WHO) over the status of a public health emergency due to the corona virus.

"Our government is ready. If there is a possibility, we will evacuate. However, the government continues to pay attention to our people, especially those in Wuhan. If I am not mistaken, they are some 100 people, 84 of whom are students. Hence, we assist them by providing logistics to them through our embassy in China," he stated.

Amin explained that Indonesia was not the only country that faced difficulty in evacuating its citizens on account of the isolation status in Wuhan. Japan and the United States had also encountered difficulties in evacuating their residents from Wuhan.

"Also those from Japan that has sent a plane cannot be evacuated yet. The US Embassy, which has been closed, reportedly also has not been able to get out. This situation is since Wuhan has been declared an isolated area," he noted.

To assist Indonesian citizens in Hubei Province, the Government of Indonesia has allocated Rp133,280,000 to procure logistics whose prices have increased due to the isolation of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.

ANTARA