Americans Trapped in Wuhan, China
One might think that the richest country in the world, the USA, would evacuate their citizens from Wuhan, China, in a most expeditious manner. However, this has not been the case for Americans.
Most countries have chartered flights for their citizens free of charge. However, the U.S. has not done this. Their evacuation flights from Wuhan evacuated all VIPs and embassy staff free of charge and over 200 took advantage of this. For the non-VIPs, the flights with remaining seats are NOT free. Americans are charged inflated prices of $1000 and competition is fierce for the remaining 1000 Americans struggling to catch a flight.
These Americans are told by the U.S. Embassy to visit the official websites only to find they contain invalid or obsolete information or they simply so not work. Many Americans are teachers or others and married to Chinese citizens and have kids that have not yet obtained their American passports. Thus, it is a tough choice as to whether leave or not to leave.
Wuhan is closed off from the rest of China and this may last until April, according to local authorities. Travel is restricted and even getting to the Wuhan airport poses a serious problem with few taxis operating. Food and money also are beginning to become a factor as the millions in Wuhan live their daily lives and businesses closed.
One would think that the U.S. would provide chartered flights for ALL of its citizens to evacuate free of cost in this time of danger.
