The death toll from China’s coronavirus epidemic soared to 304 on Sunday while Hubei Province confirmed 1,921 new infections.
With Britain, Russia and Sweden among the countries confirming their first infections, the virus has now spread to more than two dozen nations, sending governments scurrying to limit their exposure.
The United States and Australia are leading a growing list of countries that are putting temporary but sweeping travel restrictions on Chinese nationals or those who have travelled to China within the last two weeks.
‘Foreign nationals, other than immediate family of US citizens and permanent residents will be denied entry into the US,’ health secretary Alex Azar announced.
Australia said it was barring entry to non-citizens arriving from China, while Australian citizens who had travelled there would be required to go into ‘self-isolation’ for two weeks.
Vietnam suspended all flights from mainland China effective Saturday, while Russia announced it would halt visa-free tourism for Chinese nationals and stop issuing them work visas.
Similar expansive restrictions have been announced by countries including Italy, Singapore, and China’s northern neighbour Mongolia.
The United States, Japan, Britain, Germany and other nations had already advised their citizens not to travel to China.
Thousands of Hong Kong medical workers voted to commence a four-day strike from Monday to push the government to close its border with mainland China to stop the virus, which has already spread to the financial hub.
Britain said on Saturday it was temporarily withdrawing some diplomatic staff and their families from across China, a day after the US State Department ordered embassy employees to send home family members under the age of 21.
Beijing insists it can contain the virus and called Washington’s advice against travel to China ‘unkind’.
The US emergency declaration also requires Americans returning from Hubei province to be placed in mandatory 14-day quarantine, and health screening for American citizens coming from other parts of China.
The virus emerged in early December and has been traced to a market in Hubei’s capital Wuhan that sold wild animals.
It spread globally on the wings of a Lunar New Year holiday rush that sees hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel domestically and overseas.
The economic fallout continued as Apple announced that all its China stores would be closed until February 9.
China’s central bank said it would offer financial support to businesses hit by the public health emergency.
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha via Xinhua reports, that central China’s Hubei Province reported 1,921 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 45 new deaths on Saturday, local health authorities said Sunday.
The provincial capital Wuhan reported 894 new confirmed cases and 32 new deaths, and the cities of Huanggang and Xiaogan reported 276 and 121 new confirmed cases, respectively, according to the Hubei Provincial Health Commission.
Authorities discharged 49 patients from hospital in the province on Saturday.
Hubei had reported 9,074 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection by Saturday, with 294 deaths and 1,562 cases in severe or critical condition. The province has seen 215 patients discharged from hospital.-AFP
