Cambodia’s PM says he will visit students in Chinese city at virus epicentre

Cambodia’s leader said he will visit Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of a new virus outbreak, to meet with students from his country studying there.

The country’s prime minister Hun Sen said on his Facebook page that he would fly on Wednesday to Wuhan from South Korea’s capital, Seoul.

He initially said Chinese authorities had agreed to the trip but later updated his posting to say he was awaiting permission.

There are no commercial flights currently operating from Seoul to Wuhan, and Hun Sen did not explain how he would get there.

He is in Seoul for a conference organised by a private group.

Mr Hun Sen said he plans to give moral support to the students in Wuhan and tell them not to fear the virus.

A number of other countries have evacuated their citizens from the city.

He told Cambodians in a television broadcast last week that the virus does not threaten them, and he would not ban flights from China.

The virus has sickened more than 20,600 people worldwide, most of them in China.

More than 420 have died.