Germany mulling evacuation of citizens from Chinese region affected by coronavirus

Germany is considering evacuating German citizens from the Chinese region affected by a coronavirus, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday.

"We are now also considering a possible evacuation of all Germans who are willing to leave," Maas told a news conference, adding that a team from the German embassy in Beijing would arrive in Wuhan - the Chinese city where the coronavirus outbreak began - later in the day to help Germans there.

Maas said Germans should avoid all travel to China that was not absolutely necessary.