Icelandic Family Returns from Wuhan, China

An aircraft, carrying the family, landed at Reykjavík Airport Friday.

An aircraft, carrying the family, landed at Reykjavík Airport Friday. mbl.is/RAX

Vala Hafstað

The Icelandic family of three that had requested permission to return home from Wuhan, China, where COVID-19, the novel coronavirus originates, returned to Iceland on Friday. The family had been staying in Wuhan since late December, mbl.is reports.

Their return was arranged by the citizen services of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs and local consular missions in Beijing and Paris, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the chief epidemiologist, and the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management.

This was announced on the  Foreign Ministry’s website. There are major restrictions regarding transportation from Wuhan, but through European cooperation in civil protection, of which Iceland is a member, it was possible to arrange for the family to obtain seats on a flight from Wuhan to France.

Thirty-three European states are part of this cooperation: EU member states, Norway, Iceland, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. The Icelandic Embassy in Beijing handled communication with Chinese authorities.

In France, the family was then brought on board a charter flight to Iceland. Employees of the Icelandic embassy in Paris handled communication with French authorities and ensured the family would obtain permission to get on board the charter flight.

The charter plane landed at Reykjavík Airport Friday afternoon. The family underwent medical examination and will be quarantined at their home for the coming days.

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