At least 243 Indonesian citizens in seven cities across Hubei Province, China — including the city of Wuhan — are still isolated, as they await evacuation from the red zone of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The Indonesian government said it is coordinating with China to evacuate them and that three aircrafts have been prepared — namely two units of Boeing B737 and one C-130 Hercules — as well as a Health Battalion from the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU). President Joko Widodo said during his visit to Cimahi, West Java yesterday that he has yet to instruct for the evacuation to take place because access to Wuhan and other cities in the province are closed.
“In regards to the evacuation of our citizens in Wuhan and 15 other cities, the government definitely has the option to do it. But once again, those cities are still under lockdown,” President Jokowi said, as quoted by Kompas.
Jokowi urged all Indonesians in China to take care of their health, while acknowledging that their food supplies are running low due to the lockdown.
“What’s more important now is that communication between the Indonesian Embassy [in Beijing] with students and citizens there are well-maintained. Maybe in the next four or five days we’ll find a solution for logistics matter,” Jokowi continued.
In a statement received by Coconuts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) said yesterday that the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing is in touch with the Indonesian citizens in Hubei Province and other cities in China. They also wrote that they’re currently in “good condition”, reaffirming that their daily needs are still fulfilled.
A post has been established in Changsha, the nearest city to Hubei Province, to facilitate the monitoring and delivery of aid. The embassy has been gradually sending daily needs to students in Wuhan, such as food and sanitary utilities. Medicines and medical equipment, including masks, will be distributed to citizens in the affected areas.
However, Indonesian citizens in Wuhan have become anxious in the midst of the widespread outbreak. Yuliannova Channiago, an Indonesian student in Wuhan, has been urging the government through her Twitter account to evacuate her and her peers.
“Seeing the virus become more widespread everyday, we’ve become worried and are hoping to be evacuated soon. At the moment we can still survive (in a safe condition) but that doesn’t mean we can stay that way, we have limited capabilities. The aid we’ve received will also run out in a few days,” Yuliannova wrote in a series of tweets yesterday, which appear to have been deleted. Several tweets also mentioned the accounts of Jokowi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, and the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing.
Hours later, Yuliannova demanded a response from the government, pointing out that her American friend has been evacuated.
“Our friend whose country of origin is [the United States of] America left Wuhan yesterday. We’re still waiting for good news from the Indonesian government until now. Wuhan is very unhealthy, the latest data at 4.03pm, Jan 29: 6,043 infected, and 132 dead,” Yuliannova tweeted.
Japan and the United States have successfully evacuated their citizens amid the lockdown in Hubei, while Singapore announced today that it was able to rescue 92 of its citizens from Wuhan.
