A South African aircraft has been sent to Wuhan to rescue 122 stranded citizens wishing to return home in view of the current coronavirus epidemic in the Chinese city, APA learnt on Wednesday.
The team, comprising South African National Defence Forces members and a medical team from the Ministry of Health, left for Wuhan in the early hours of Wednesday.
Sending off the rescuers, Ramaphosa described the visit as “an important mission for the country”.
“We thank you for doing it for the country. I want you to go out there knowing that you are carrying the whole country with you.”
Allaying South Africans’ fears of the returnees, Ramaphosa assured the nation that “the people that the team is going to repatriate are not sick.”
“This team is going to fetch people who are well. We will keep screening them to check if we cannot find someone who got an infection. If there are, we will take them out for treatment,” he said.
Prior to bidding the team farewell, Ramaphosa conducted a walkabout at the OR Tambo International Airport in the company of Ministers of Health Zweli Mkhize and Defence and Military Veterans’ Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
The walkabout showed the president the state of readiness at the key entry point in case of any arrivals from coronavirus countries.
He was also shown a clinic at the airport where patients are handled before entering the country.
Currently, South Africa has 13 coronavirus patients who are in quarantine and under treatment.
NM/jn/APA