PERSONA NON GRATA

Buses Carrying Ukrainian Coronavirus Evacuees Pelted With Rocks After Hoax Email Sparks Panic

Protesters appear to have been tricked by a hoax email claiming the evacuees were infected with the deadly virus.

Ukrainian nationals who were trapped in China during the coronavirus outbreak must have been dreaming of home for weeks. They didn’t get the welcome they might have hoped for, though, as the buses transporting them to their quarantine center were met by protesters pelting them with rocks. None of the evacuees are believed to be infected, but they’re being kept away from the public for two weeks in case they start showing symptoms. Ukraine’s security service said a hoax email claiming to be from the health ministry falsely said some evacuees had the virus, according to BBC News, which sparked panic as they returned to the country. On Thursday, 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreign nationals were flown from Wuhan in China back to Ukraine. Six coach buses picked up the evacuees to take them to quarantine, but protesters blocked the roads, lit bonfires, and hurled stones. President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the protesters to show some empathy.