Two more people flown back to Belgium from China

On Sunday 9 February, two more people have flown back to our country on a British flight. This weekend, the UK authorities organised repatriation of their nationals and offered places to citizens of European Member States.

Two people living in Belgium informed the FPS Foreign Affairs that they wanted to take this opportunity to leave China. Living conditions in the town of Wuhan have deteriorated considerably over time.

Other nationals from countries such as the Netherlands and Germany, among others, have also taken this flight to return home. The return flight and the transport have been organised by our Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with English, German and Dutch colleagues. The flight from Wuhan made a stopover in Great Britain, then flew to Berlin and finally landed in the Netherlands. The necessary security measures have been taken before and during the flight, under the supervision of medical staff.

The two were taken care of by a team from the Ministry of Defence who transported them safely to the military hospital in Neder-Over-Hembeek.

The two new arrivals have been placed in strict quarantine in a separate section from the first group. One of them is Belgian, the other is a European national living in Belgium. Both are in good health and show no symptoms. The KULeuven reference laboratory will carry out tests to exclude any risk.

At this stage, only one person has been confirmed positive for coronavirus. The authorities and their partners in the medical sector remain extremely alert to protect public health in our country.