China's airlines cancel 78,000 flights, return 13 million tickets amid COVID-19 outbreak
Beijing/Sputnik/UNI: China's numerous airlines have canceled some 78,000 flights and returned about 13 million tickets due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, deputy head of the country's state property control and management committee, Ren Hongbin, said on Tuesday.
"Between January 20 and February 13, three airlines returned 13 million tickets, 78,000 flights were canceled, the passenger load factor decreased by almost half of the daily utilization rate," Ren said at a briefing.
The official added that touristic places, hotels, retail stores have all closed, production activity has also dropped.
The novel coronavirus disease, dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), was first detected in Wuhan, located in the Hubei Province, in late December and has since spread to more than 20 other countries. The death toll from the illness in mainland China has exceeded 1,800 people, and the number of confirmed cases has topped 72,400. Over 12,500 patients have been discharged from hospitals.
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