People wear masks as they wait for the arrivals at the International terminal at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday, January 25, 2020. The Canadian government is now advising citizens against all travel to a Chinese province that’s at the centre of a global outbreak of a new form of coronavirus, stepping up an earlier warning about the region. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

People wear masks as they wait for the arrivals at the International terminal at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday, January 25, 2020. The Canadian government is now advising citizens against all travel to a Chinese province that’s at the centre of a global outbreak of a new form of coronavirus, stepping up an earlier warning about the region. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Canadians seek way out of Wuhan as coronavirus continues to spread

The Chinese government has cut off access to Wuhan and 16 other cities

  • Jan. 29, 2020 12:00 a.m.

More than 120 Canadians in Wuhan have asked the Canadian government to help bring them home.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says 250 Canadians have registered as being in the central Chinese city, which is the epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak.

He says Canada is “looking at all options” and adds that every Canadian who has reached out for consular assistance will receive it.

The Chinese government has cut off access to Wuhan and 16 other cities.

The virus has now infected more than 6,000 people and caused 132 deaths.

Three people have been sickened in Canada — two in Toronto and one in British Columbia.

Some airlines have halted all flights to China as a result of the outbreak, including British Airways and several Asian carriers.

The Canadian government is advising against all travel to China.

—With files from the Associated Press.

The Canadian Press

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