With the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China surpassing 4,500, the majority of them in the Hubei province, concerns about the well-being of foreign nationals stranded in Wuhan, the city at the heart of the deadly outbreak, have been mounting.

India, along with the US, Japan and several other countries, have been taking pains to transport their citizens back home, a task far from being easy given that Wuhan, together with over dozen Chinese cities have been put on lockdown by the Chinese authorities in a bid to curb the outbreak.

In a statement Monday, New Delhi indicated that preparations for the imminent evacuation of Indian nationals from Wuhan were set in motion.

 “It was decided that steps may be taken to prepare for the possible evacuation of Indian nationals in Wuhan. Accordingly, the ministry of external affairs will make a request to the Chinese authorities"

The special-purpose flight is set to be operated by Air India. It was initially reported that a Boeing 747 was to take off from Mumbai on Monday afternoon.

“We are in a state of preparedness. Our crew, medical teams, and supplies are ready for the flight. But Wuhan is in a state of lockdown and services there are hit,” the airline said.

“The 423-seater double-decker jumbo aircraft will bring back, among others, students stranded in Wuhan,” the company’s spokesperson said at the time, referring to an estimated 250 Indians, majority of them medical students, that are now stuck in the city.

However, the flight apparently has so far failed to receive a nod from Beijing, which reported on Tuesday morning that the number of known coronavirus cases nationwide has increased from 2,887 to at least 4,515 in a single day  - more than a 50 percent spike. The death toll, meanwhile, reached double digits, rising to 106 people from 82.

Indian civil aviation authorities have not reportedly moved forward with the request to the Chinese authorities so far, according to the airline official cited by The Hindu, who said that New Dehli has yet to figure out guidelines for the crew’s safety.

The US State Department, meanwhile, said that it would be sending a charter plane to Wuhan on Wednesday to extract US consulate officials as well as those Americans who are at “greater risk” of being infected. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that a charter plane to bring back Japanese citizens would depart on Tuesday night, noting that about 710 Japanese nationals are believed to be in Hubei. Toshimitsu said that a doctor, two nurses and a quarantine officer would carry out check-ups mid-flight to determine whether the evacuees had contracted the  potentially deadly disease. Upon arrival, the passengers would be instructed to report back their health condition to the authorities for the next two weeks.

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