A US national security adviser says there 'there is no reason for Americans to panic' about coronavirus as report claims second US plane heads to China to evacuate more Americans from Wuhan

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A US national security adviser says there 'there is no reason for Americans to panic' about coronavirus as report claims second US plane heads to China to evacuate more Americans from Wuhan
Riverisde wuhan plane

Matt Hartman/AFP/Getty Images

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A charter plane lands at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, on January 29, 2020, with passengers evacuated from Wuhan.

  • A plane is on the way to Wuhan to evacuate more US citizens trapped in the city, CNN reported Sunday.
  • The plane would be the second one to remove US citizens from the city at the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
  • The evacuation "might not be the last," a source familiar with the plan told CNN.
  • A US national security adviser told CBS on Sunday he thought there was "no reason for Americans to panic" about the virus that has killed at least 304 people, mainly in China.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A second plane is reportedly on the way to the city of Wuhan in China to evacuate more United States citizens as the region continues to deal with the spread of the novel coronavirus, CNN reported Sunday.

According to the Sunday report from CNN, the plane, expected to be ready to take off for its return trip to the US on Monday, may not be the last plane sent to the city to evacuate Americans.

"I can't confirm the numbers yet, but this upcoming evacuation might not be the last," an unnamed official told CNN, adding there had been a high demand for the flights from US citizens still in Wuhan.

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A US national security adviser, meanwhile, said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation that he did not believe there was a reason for the US to panic about the novel coronavirus, which has killed 304 people in China and 1 person in the Philippines and has infected at least eight people in the US.

"So, right now there is no reason for Americans to panic," US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said, adding he believed there was a low-risk to the US. O'Brien told Face the Nation's Margaret Brennan that he believed China was being more transparent during the coronavirus outbreak than it had been during previous crises, but it still had not yet accepted US offers to provide assistance.

"This is a worldwide concern we want to help our Chinese colleagues if we can," O'Brien said February 2. "Look I think we can be helpful if we're on the ground, right now the Chinese are providing information to us and we're taking that for what it's worth but at the same time we're monitoring ourselves and what we're especially doing is monitoring the situation here in the states to make sure Americans are continuing to be safe from this virus."

The plane sent Sunday would be the second aircraft to retrieve US Citizens from the city in China's Hubei province amid the ongoing travel ban in Wuhan that has been in place since January 25.

As Business Insider previously reported, 195 US citizens were evacuated from Wuhan to the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California on January 29. Those brought back from Wuhan will spend two weeks in quarantine, a requirement President Donald Trump instituted for all citizens who had been to China within the past 14 days. All foreign nationals, barring permanent residents and the immediate family of US citizens, who visited China in the same window have been temporarily banned from entering the US.

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According to CNN, all US diplomats and their families were able to leave the city on the January 29 flight.

The US Department of State did not return Business Insider's request for comment about the second flight.

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