The patient onboard was transported due to a stroke and was not infected with Covid-19. The 11-million-metropolis of Shijiazhuang is the capital of the Hebei Province, and is around 1,000 kilometers from Wuhan. The organization of the four-day-transportation operations took several weeks. The five-person crew (three pilots, a doctor, an intensive care nurse) had to appear in person at the Chinese consulate in Munich, in order to obtain the required visas.

The outward flight went from Nuremberg, Germany, via a refuelling stop in Astana (Kazakhstan) to Shijiazhuang. Since the crew was not allowed to stay overnight, due to the quarantine rules on site, they flew on to Seoul. From there, it went back to Nuremberg the following day, with a stopover in Astana.

Transporting patients even with travel warnings

The German rescue service ADAC organizes ambulance transports even if there are travel warnings or during the lockdown in 2020. However, there may be delays due to the higher organizational effort. The reason for this is the different hygiene regulations and quarantine rules from country to country. In addition, there are specifications from the hospitals and the best possible protection of the crews and doctors must be ensured.

In the event of a life-threatening illness and insufficient medical care on site, all available transport options are checked. These range from regional relocations to centers with a higher supply of isolation stretchers, etc. Each individual case will be checked for existing options, taking into account the risk for the flight and medical crew, the risk for the population and the restrictions imposed by the respective authorities.