The chartered plane is seen prior to takeoff.
KUCHING: A chartered plane dispatched by the Malaysian government to bring home stranded Malaysians in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, departed from KLIA2 today.
The National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), in a statement, stated that the AirAsia flight AK8264 passenger plane took off from KLIA2 at 3:50 pm.
On board the plane were eight accompanying officials and 12 crew members who will bring back 141 Malaysian citizens, including spouses and children, said the statement.
“The 500,000 pairs of gloves from the Malaysian government to China are also flown together to Wuhan.”
The statement said that all 141 passengers will have to go through a health screening prescribed by the authorities of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in China before boarding the plane for home.
“The time required for health screening, departure procedures and authorisation is yet to be determined.”
The 500,000 pairs of gloves from the Malaysian government to China are also flown together to Wuhan.
According to the statement, once the plane touches down in Malaysia, all 167 people, including 141 passengers, 12 crew members, eight officers as well as six team members of the Malaysian Embassy in China, will have to go through another health screening at the Air Disaster Unit (ADU) of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The statement added that passengers with symptoms of 2019-nCov will be taken to the hospital for quarantine, and those who pass the screening will be taken to a designated centre for a 14-day quarantine.
“The National Disaster Management Agency will contact their families to inform them of the necessary procedures and the need for quarantine.”