The Sudanese authorities have allowed students returning from the Chinese city of Wuhan via the United Arab Emirates to go home, after they refused to undergo self-isolation measures to ensure that they were not infected with the Covid-19 disease.
The 143 students justified their rejection by saying that they had spent three weeks in quarantine in the UAE, and an earlier isolation in Wuhan, adding that their tests came negative.
The students arrived at Khartoum airport on Thursday night, but refused to leave the plane. They later held a sit-in at the airport until Friday morning, before the Ministry of Health announced that they were allowed to go home.
In early March, the UAE evacuated the Sudanese students from Wuhan, which recorded the first cases of the novel coronavirus in the world.
Minister of Health Akram El Tom addressed a letter to the civil aviation authorities, asking them to allow the students to exit the airport after subjecting them to thermal examination by the quarantine team.
He added that the monitoring teams would follow-up on the situation of the repatriated nationals and would apply the same procedures used for all Sudanese coming back through the airports and maritime and land crossings.
Three cases of infection have been recorded to date in Sudan, including one death. The two other cases are being treated in isolation centers in Khartoum.
The Sudanese authorities have imposed an overnight curfew from 8 pm until 6 am and stopped all flights inside the country.
The Security and Defense Council has declared a state of health emergency in all parts of the country, and closed all airports, sea and land ports, restricting inbound travel to planes carrying food and medical supplies.
