Pakistan refuses to evacuate students from Wuhan

While several countries have already announced plans to evacuate their citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, some countries refuse to do so. Thousands of Pakistani students remain stranded in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic.

Halima, a Pakistani student, told DW that there was a shortage of critical supplies like food and medicine, and it was difficult to travel to the market owing to lack of transport.

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China has effectively shut down Wuhan and many surrounding provinces and municipalities in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.  The coronavirus outbreak was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week. The death toll in China from coronavirus currently stands at 490.

Pakistan, which has close bilateral ties with China, has reportedly decided to not evacuate students from Wuhan, to contain the spread of the virus. Coronavirus cases have been reported in a number of Asian territories, including India, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Halima's father reportedly received the following message from the Pakistani government. "Nobody is allowed to get out from Wuhan, we are constantly in touch with authorities," he said. "Students are safe in rooms and if they move out for transportation they might be exposed to the virus. WHO has also advised not to move or expose individuals unnecessarily."

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The statement said China was best equipped to deal with the emergency. "There are 500 Pakistani officers and their families and they are not being evacuated. Meanwhile, this virus is dangerous to older people mostly and will be controlled soon," it read. 

Other nationalities trapped in Wuhan

Meanwhile, Adam, a Nigerian citizen trapped in Wuhan, revealed to DW that products such as baby formula were in short supply. He said that people in Wuhan were also unable to go to the hospital for fear of contracting coronavirus.

Adam and other Nigerian citizens are yet to hear back from their own government on evacuation plans.