On Sunday (26 January), the Mongolian Government held an emergency meeting regarding the Chinese coronavirus outbreak. As the death toll doubles to 81, it was decided to bring the Mongolian students home from epidemic-stricken Wuhan as soon as possible. According to official sources, 31 Mongolian students are currently trapped in the city. Currently, the Mongolian Government is negotiating with China’s Foreign Ministry and other government agencies to get approval to conduct the evacuation operation.

Chinese authorities in recent days have halted almost all transit, including commercial flights, in and out of Wuhan as they attempt to cut off the city and much of Hubei Province from the rest of the country, in an extraordinary attempt to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Another dramatic step has been the Mongolian Government decision to ban passenger flow through border crossings with China from Monday (27 January); however, the scheduled train services and flights remain unaffected.