The Afghan Ministry of Public Health reported on Sunday that 197 Afghan students are in China, including some in the city of Wuhan, and they are vulnerable to the new coronavirus that has so far killed at least 56 people, and some are also at risk of running out of food while locked-down.

The virus has infected more than 1,300 people globally, according to news agencies.

The virus originated in Wuhan late last year and has spread to Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the United States, France, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

The virus is transmitted between animals and people and can evolve into strains not previously identified in humans.

“They are vulnerable to the threat (of the virus) and it is a real concern for us as well as for the Chinese people and citizens of other countries,” said Hanif Farzan, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Public Health.

Some Afghan students in China who talked to TOLOnews by phone and video conference said the Chinese government has not provided any help so far.

“All the markets and shops have been locked down for the past week. Routes are also closed. We are faced with a lack of food,” said Murtaza, an Afghan student in Wuhan, China.

“We expect the (Afghan) government to contact the Chinese government to evacuate the Afghans who are stranded there (in Wuhan),” said Mustafa Alizada, an Afghan student in Beijing.

Doctors have asked Wuhan citizens to stay under quarantine, according to the students.

“We are being checked. We are taken to the hospital if they find us suspicious,” said an Afghan student in Wuhan.

But the Afghan Minister of Public Health, Ferozuddin Feroz, said that everyone in Wuhan city is locked down and under quarantine.

“The Wuhan city is locked down. No one is allowed to move outside. Around 40 Afghan students are in Wuhan but they are not allowed to go out,” Feroz said.

This comes as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Sunday afternoon reported that an “emergency meeting” was held at the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs to evacuate--or help in some way--62 Afghan students stranded in Wuhan, China, who are locked-down and without food because of the coronavirus outbreak.