State Department authorizes personnel to evacuate China due to coronavirus

The U.S. State Department has placed U.S. diplomatic staff and their families in China on “authorized departure,” meaning they are permitted to leave the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Driving the news: Approximately 210 U.S. citizens were evacuated Wednesday from Wuhan, where the outbreak began and has spread most widely. The virus has killed at least 171 people in China and infected over 8,000, and was declared a Global Health Emergency on Thursday by the World Health Organization.