Passengers from China Southern Airlines flight CZ319 arrive at Perth International Airport on February 2, 2020 in Perth, Australia.
Paul Kane/Getty Images
Australia joined the United States in temporarily banning noncitizens who had recently been in China as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak increased to 259. The two countries are hardly alone as Russia, Japan, Pakistan, and Italy have all announced some travel restrictions. An increasingly isolated China said that the total number of cases had reached 11,791 and more than 20 other countries have reported an additional 137 cases.
Beijing lashed out against the United States for its restrictions, saying that it contradicts the World Health Organization’s recommendations against travel bans. “Just as the WHO recommended against travel restrictions, the U.S. rushed to go in the opposite way. Certainly not a gesture of goodwill,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. On Friday, the WHO reiterated its call to not impose any rules that would limit travel or trade. “Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing and medical supply chains and harming economies,” WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said. “We urge countries and companies to make evidence-based, consistent decisions.”
The United States is banning entry to foreign nationals, except the immediate family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China in the past two weeks. The restrictions take effect on Sunday afternoon. Americans who have been to Hubei province, where the outbreak originated, will face a mandatory 14-day quarantine. “The risk is low in the United States,” Health Secretary Alex Azar said, “but our job is to keep that risk low as much as we can.” As more places close access to citizens from China, the government in Hong Kong has not closed its border or halted transport links with mainland China. That led a union representing thousands of medical workers in Hong Kong to call for a strike starting Monday if the government does not close the border with mainland China.
There is growing fear about what the new virus will do to the Chinese economy as numerous businesses across the country have been shut. Apple said Saturday all its official stores and corporate offices will be closed until Feb. 9. The Chinese government is moving quickly to impose measure to boost its financial systems as everyone expects a huge sell-off in the markets on Monday. Travel is also being severely restricted as more than a dozen airlines said they were reducing or totally suspending operations to and from China. Delta, for example, said its last China-bound flight would depart on Feb. 1 and the last return flight back to the United States would be on Feb. 2.
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