164 Chinese citizens extracted from Iran

With the assistance of the Chinese embassy in Iran, 164 Chinese citizens aboard a chartered China Southern Airlines flight arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from Teheran, Iran, at 1:17 am, the Chengdu Health Commission reported.

In line with epidemic prevention and control procedures for the coronavirus, the aircraft stopped at the far end of the runways at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

Employees from Chengdu Customs went to the aircraft to conduct health screenings of all the passengers and crew members.

None of the 164 passengers had a fever. But 21 of them reported that their throats had the sensation of a foreign body, or that they had coughs or other respiratory symptoms.

They were transferred to a designated hospital for further screening by a special ambulance. The remaining 143 passengers were transferred to a designated hotel in Chengdu, where they will be in quarantine for 14 days.

Nucleic acid test samples were collected from all the passengers. Disease control personnel and airport staff members disinfected the aircraft, and the crew returned to Guangzhou where China Southern Airlines is headquartered, the Chengdu Health Commission said.