Brazilian Government Says It Will Repatriate All Brazilians Wanting to Leave Wuhan

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs stated in a note on Sunday, February 2nd, that the government will bring back all Brazilians wanting to return from Wuhan – the city most affected by the coronavirus epidemic in China.

The decision was announced after the release of a video in which a group of Brazilians asked for help. In the message, they recalled operations made by other countries to remove their citizens from China. In addition, they committed to going through a period of quarantine when landing in Brazil.

The government says that, as soon as they arrive, these citizens will be subjected to quarantine “in accordance with international procedures, under the guidance of the Ministry of Health.

The order to be quarantined is only for Brazilians. Foreigners on flights from China are not required to remain isolated. Government sources said the issue is of concern, but there is still no decision on the matter.

The Ministry of Health has not commented on the free circulation of foreigners coming from China. ANVISA has advised the airlines: it wants to be briefed on the presence of passengers with distinctive symptoms of the disease. In such cases, they will be isolated and monitored.

Plan for repatriation

The government further states that the Brazilian Air Force is working on a flight plan for the aircraft to be flown to China – “possibly chartered,” according to the text.

Given the distance, Brazil currently has no direct flight routes to China. The planes typically make stopovers. On Friday, Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said this could be an additional complication for Brazilians’ repatriation.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto Araújo, told TV Globo that there is no date scheduled yet and that there are “several variables” under negotiation.

“Of course we are aware of people’s anxiety over there and of their relatives in Brazil to bring them in, so we are working as fast as we can. There are several variables that are now coming together: the negotiation with the Chinese government, the question of the flight plan, the stopover, the setting up of the quarantine system here. But I think this is a matter to be settled very soon,” said Araújo.

Other details, such as the itinerary and protocol for citizens to show interest in returning to Brazil, had not been disclosed until the publication of this article. According to the government, the Brazilian Embassy in Beijing will be in charge of these procedures.

The announcement further states that two Brazilians with Portuguese nationality have already managed to leave Wuhan, on a French flight that carried European Union citizens. They will be quarantined in Portugal. Their identity has not been disclosed.

Request for help

On Sunday morning, Brazilians living in Wuhan recorded a video appealing to President Jair Bolsonaro.

In the recording, the Brazilians read an open letter urging the government to help them leave China and return to Brazil. They emphasize that they are willing, if needed, to remain in quarantine.

On Friday, January 31st, after meeting with ministers at the Alvorada Palace, Bolsonaro said he still did not have a clear strategy for the Brazilians’ rescue since the operation “was costly” and because Brazil does not have a quarantine law in place.

“It costs a lot to fly like this. If I charter a flight, it costs more than US$500,000. It may be low for the scale of the Brazilian budget, but it needs approval from Congress,” he said. The president discarded the option of issuing a provisional measure to speed up the process.

In response, the presidents of the Chamber, Rodrigo Maia, and the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre, stated that Congress will give “full support” to the evacuation of Brazilians from affected regions in China. And that, if required, they would vote on emergency bills to enable flights.

“If this is the government’s decision, and the government understands that there is an emergency, and it agrees that there is, the government has tools to organize the budget,” Maia said in a statement. On the establishment of a quarantine law, the deputy said: “‘The government can submit the bill and the Chamber will vote as a matter of urgency”.

On Sunday, the president of the Senate made a similar statement.

“I don’t think there’s any stalemate on that. They are Brazilians, and if we can manage to get these Brazilians, place them in quarantine in the barracks or in a military base to comply with this quarantine, we do not necessarily need a bill”, he said.

After the government’s announcement to repatriate the Brazilians in Wuhan, Alcolumbre used social media to praise the decision.

“I congratulate the Executive on its decision to repatriate our people. The Congress is ready to help in any way necessary,” he said.

Source: G1