Malaysian ambassador to China Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin said the team would update information on logistics and facilitate the evacuation of Malaysians from Wuhan.
Discussions were being held with the Chinese government and the local authorities in the Hubei province to ensure the evacuation went on smoothly, he said in a statement last night.
Nushirwan said 141 people, comprising 117 Malaysians and 24 non-citizens related to them, would be brought back from Wuhan aboard a special aircraft.
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had said the group would be brought home on a special flight today.
She said, however, that only those who passed the health screening by the Chinese authorities at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport would be allowed to get on board the aircraft.
Malaysia’s preparedness against outbreak at its best, says minister
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad dismissed claims the ministry was late in taking action against the coronavirus outbreak.
He said the country’s preparedness, including facilities and relief teams, was at its best and in place “even before the World Health Organisation held its meeting” on the virus outbreak in Wuhan.
“We understand the people’s concerns,” he said, adding that the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) at Sungai Buloh had been activated on Jan 5, “right after we were made aware of the crisis, even before WHO held its meeting”.
Speaking on TV3’s Buletin Utama last night, Dzulkefly said the ministry had vast experience in dealing with health crises such as the nipah virus, zika and H1N1.
“Frontliners involved in managing the coronavirus infection are equipped with full protective gear. In addition, 57 hospitals have been identified as screening hospitals, with 26 of them prepared to provide treatment.
“However, we do not want to be complacent, even though the Global Health Security Index had placed Malaysia third in Asia behind Thailand and South Korea in terms of national preparedness and ability to deal with infectious diseases,” he said.