Chinese tourists from Wuhan sent home from Thailand
Chinese tourists from Wuhan sent home from Thailand

Chinese tourists who arrived in Thailand from the coronavirus-stricken Wuhan were yesterday (Feb 7th) sent home on a chartered plane.

The 139 holidaymakers, who landed in Bangkok before the city went into lockdown, gathered at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

They were screened for coronavirus by having their temperatures checked before boarding a China Southern Airlines flight which departed at 5 pm local time.

Airport boss Kittipong Kittikachorn said the Chinese government had organised the flight to collect its citizens.

He said: ''At first we thought there were between 150 and 160 people from Wuhan still in Thailand.

But there were 139 who boarded today.

''Medical staff have checked the passengers during check-in and anybody with a body temperature higher than 37.3C were taken outside for further screenings.'' Thailand has been criticised for its handling of the coronavirus crisis.

While many countries have banned Chinese tourists to try and stem the spread of the disease, politicians in Bangkok have refused to stop arrivals for China to avoid offending the Communist country's government and causing long-term damage to the lucrative tourism industry.

There are 25 cases of infections in Thailand and at least 34,878 worldwide, with the majority coming from China.