US charters plane to repatriate Americans from Malawi

US government is chartering a plane to evacuate its citizens from Malawi amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

A statement from the US embassy in Lilongwe says the repatriation exercise is as the result of the virus pandemic.

“We are in the process of examining options for a repatriation flight to the United States.

“The flight is expected to travel to Malawi the next two weeks,” says the statement in part.

The statement says Americans interested in the repatriation should immediately contact the US embassy consular section through the Lilongwe evacuation request form not later than 7:30am on Tuesday, April 14.

“Vulnerable populations will be priotirised and all others will be confirmed on first come, first serve basis,” says the statement in part.

However, some Malawians have taken up in various social media platforms to question the decision to evacuate the Americans from a low infected country to the coronavirus hotspot in the world.