Saudi Arabia urges nationals in Wuhan to contact embassy after coronavirus outbreak

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s embassy in China on Saturday urged its citizens in Wuhan to contact its emergency numbers urgently to facilitate evacuation from the city after an outbreak of coronavirus, which has killed 41 people in China.

Saudi nationals in Wuhan, the original source of the previously unknown 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), are being advised to call the following numbers in order to facilitate evacuation:

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to China: 008618511178585

Head of the consular section: 008618500224844

Department for the affairs of Saudis: 008615011007558

Unified number for the affairs of Saudis abroad: 0096692003334

Millions of people traveling during the Lunar New Year holiday have fueled the spread of the outbreak nationwide and overseas after it began in the city of Wuhan in central China. The vast majority of infections and all of the deaths have been in mainland China, but fresh cases are popping up elsewhere.

Australia and Malaysia reported their first cases on Saturday, and Japan, its third. France confirmed three cases on Friday, the first in Europe, and the US identified its second, a woman in Chicago who had returned from China.

Wuhan, at the heart of the outbreak and whose 11 million residents are already on lockdown, banned most vehicle use, including private cars, in downtown areas starting on Sunday, state media reported.

Only authorized vehicles carrying supplies and for other needs would be permitted, the reports said.