Total of 46 foreign airlines suspend fights to China : authorities
Beijing/Sputnik: A total of 46 foreign airlines have so far suspended flights to and from China due to the spread of the novel coronavirus originating in the Asian country, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Tuesday.
"Due to the spread of the new type of coronavirus, the demand in the international aviation market has sharply decreased and a number of countries imposed restrictions on the entry and exit of Chinese citizens.
To date, 46 foreign airlines have announced the suspension of flights to and from mainland China," the statement said. In the wake of the suspension of international flights, the Chinese aviation authorities called on local airline companies to provide continuous air traffic, including on international routes.
"To meet the needs for cross-border passenger transportation and international cargo transportation during a special period, the Civil Aviation Administration of China urges all Chinese airlines to cancel part of the flights based on the market situation and at the same time ensure uninterrupted flights to other countries, except for flights to those countries where restrictive measures have been taken," the administration said.
The new strain of coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan late December and has since spread to more than 20 countries. The virus has so far killed 425 people in China and infected over 20,000 others.
On Sunday, the first coronavirus-related death outside China was confirmed in the Philippines. Earlier on Tuesday, Hong Kong, a special administrative region in China, reported its first death from the coronavirus.
Airlines around the world, including American Airlines, British Airlines, Lufthansa, Finnair, EL AI, Scandinavian Airlines, Air India, Air Canada and others, have suspended their China flights to prevent the deadly illness from spreading.
Meanwhile, countries around the globe continue evacuating citizens from Wuhan. According to Channel News Asia, earlier in the day, an aircraft of AirAsia airline with Malaysian citizens from Wuhan landed in Kuala Lumpur, bringing 107 passengers, 12 crew members, eight representatives of a humanitarian organization and six employees of the Malaysian embassy in China.
On Tuesday, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry announced plans to deny entry to all foreign nationals who had been to China during the past 14 days starting from February 7.
The authorities of China's Macau Special Administrative Region have decided to suspend for two weeks the work of the entire gambling industry in the wake of the coronavirus spread.
"Due to the fact that the ninth person in Macau with confirmed pneumonia caused by the new type of coronavirus, worked in the gambling industry, it was decided to suspend the work of the entire gambling industry and related industries for two weeks," Chief Executive of Macau Ho lat Seng said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to him, this decision was extremely difficult, but based on the current assessment of the economic situation of the special administrative region, Macau can afford such a break.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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