Reeling under the coronavirus outbreak that has left over 2,000 dead and 74,000 infected in China, Chinese authorities have decided to postpone the new semester of several universities including Southwest University.

New Delhi:

Reeling under the coronavirus outbreak that has left over 2,000 dead and 74,000 infected in China, Chinese authorities have decided to postpone the new semester of several universities including Southwest University. In a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador recently, Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Ministry of Health had raised the issue of students who had returned from China and were being asked by their respective universities to join back or lose their admission status, the Health ministry said in a statement. 

The ministry said their request has been responded to favorably by the authorities with the Chinese Embassy accepting the request.

“The students will be notified by their respective Universities accordingly,” the ministry statement said.

In a coordinated operation of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air India and Ministry of Health, two Special Air India flights were operated between Delhi and Wuhan on January 31 and February 1 that brought back a total of 654 passengers that included 647 Indian citizens (including two Indian Embassy officials who were on the ground in Wuhan to coordinate the evacuation operation) and 7 Maldivian nationals.

About 700 Indian students, mostly medical students, are believed to be studying in different universities in Wuhan — which is the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak — and its surrounding areas.

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