Protesters in Ukraine clashed with police after 45 nationals and 27 others mostly from Latin America were evacuated to the country from Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 originated. The clashes took place after a fake news story spread through email claiming that five people in the country had contracted the virus. 

The email claimed to be from Ukraine's Ministry of Health and was sent from abroad, according to Ukraine's security service. They are still investigating the case. 

The protests took place in Novi Sanzhary, a region in central Ukraine where the people from China will be quarantined for 14 days. Both the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the center of public health attempted to stop the spread of misinformation and unrest caused by the email.

In a statement posted on his Facebook during the protests, Zelensky said that the government had gone through unprecedented security measures when planning the evacuation, including leaving two people behind in Wuhan because they had slight fevers.

Each person on the plane from China had also been scanned twice for a fever before they were evacuated. "I sympathize with our evacuees, because I already know what it is to be under personal protection, and their protection will be much more serious than that of the President," he added. 

"But there is another danger that I would like to say. The danger of forgetting that we are all human and we are all Ukrainian."

However, that didn't stop the clashes between residents and the police on 20 February. The protests started when residents blocked a bridge that led to sanatorium where the evacuees would be held for two weeks. 

The protests escalated until residents attacked the bus carrying the evacuees, breaking three windows. One protester yelled out that the evacuees should be held in Chernobyl.

Another said that they should be quarantined in Zelensky's home. During the commotion, some of the people inside the bus hid their faces behind curtains while others waved Ukrainian flags.

Most of the people evacuated from Wuhan were under the age of 30.

In response to the unrest, the Ukraine's health minister, Zoryana Skaletska, said in a statement on Facebook that she would spend the next two weeks at the sanatorium with the evacuees. "I hope that my presence will reassure both those who are in Novi Sanzhary and the rest of the country," she said.

"What was happening today, and the panic and rejection, negativity and aggression struck me very much. Even more, they struck people evacuated from China. Therefore, I ask you to express their words of support and thank you for agreeing to spend two weeks in isolation for the sake of us all."

Other officials also went to the town in response to the protests, including Ukraine's Interior Minister, Arsen Avakov, and Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. 

There are currently no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Ukraine.