US ramps up anti-coronavirus measures at border as impact spreads
Published Jan 31, 2020 12:00 am
By Reuters
SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States ramped up its response to the coronavirus epidemic on Friday, declaring a public health emergency and saying it would halt entry to foreign nationals who had been to China within the 14-day incubation period.
A woman shops as she pushes a trolley with a boy wearing a mask at a supermarket, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
That measure followed on from an earlier travel advisory that warned Americans not to travel to China and angered Beijing.
Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the flu-like virus first identified earlier in January has resulted in 213 deaths in China, according to local health authorities. Wuhan and the surrounding region of Hubei are in virtual quarantine.
More than 9,800 people have been infected in China and more than 130 cases reported in at least 25 other countries and regions, with Russia, Britain, Sweden and Italy all reporting their first cases on Thursday or Friday.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that the epidemic constituted a public health emergency of international concern, a designation that triggers tighter global containment measures and coordination.
“Following the World Health Organization’s decision... I have today declared that the coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States,” U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar said at a public briefing on Friday afternoon.
As of Sunday, U.S. citizens who had been in Hubei would be subject to compulsory quarantine, he said. Foreign nationals - aside from the immediate family of citizens and residents - who had traveled in China in the last 14 days would be denied entry, said Azar.
“The risk is low in the United States... but our job is to keep that risk low as much as we can,” he said.
The move will likely anger Beijing, which has only just started to mend tattered trade ties with Washington. Earlier on Friday, it criticized the U.S. travel warning.
“The World Health Organization urged countries to avoid travel restrictions, but very soon after that, the United States did the opposite,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “It’s truly mean.”
Other countries have also advised citizens to put off non-urgent travel to China or restricted flights. After reporting its first two cases of the illness, Russia on Friday restricted direct flights to China, its biggest trade partner.
Singapore, a major travel hub in Asia, stopped entry of passengers with a recent history of travel to China and also suspended visas for Chinese passport holders.
Many airlines have chosen to cancel or reduce flights, with airline crews pressuring carriers to act.
Governments around the world are evacuating citizens from Hubei. A plane with 83 British and 27 foreign nationals landed in Britain on Friday, while Japan, with 14 confirmed cases, has sent three flights to bring citizens home.
The United States said it would channel all flights from China through seven airports. It has put 195 Americans evacuated to California this week in quarantine.
The virus has an incubation of between one and 14 days, and there are some limited signs it may also be able to spread before any symptoms show.
For a full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak, click: here
GLOBAL REVERBERATIONS
With major fallout inevitable for China’s economy, which is the world’s second largest, global shares posted their biggest weekly and monthly losses since August on Friday.
The outbreak could “reverberate globally,” Moody’s said.
In the latest impact to big name corporations, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) said it planned to halt production of a sport utility vehicle this weekend due to a supply disruption caused by the outbreak.
Home appliance maker Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) issued a similar warning, French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) said its three plants in Wuhan will remain closed until mid-February, and tractor maker Deere & Co (DE.N) said it was temporarily shutting its facilities in China.
WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said the WHO did not support travel or trade curbs. Tedros reiterated in a series of tweets on Friday that his organization had confidence in China’s capacity to control the 2019-nCoV virus.
Slideshow (24 Images)
“Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing and medical supply chains and harming economies. We urge countries and companies to make evidence-based, consistent decisions.”
A woman shops as she pushes a trolley with a boy wearing a mask at a supermarket, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
That measure followed on from an earlier travel advisory that warned Americans not to travel to China and angered Beijing.
Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the flu-like virus first identified earlier in January has resulted in 213 deaths in China, according to local health authorities. Wuhan and the surrounding region of Hubei are in virtual quarantine.
More than 9,800 people have been infected in China and more than 130 cases reported in at least 25 other countries and regions, with Russia, Britain, Sweden and Italy all reporting their first cases on Thursday or Friday.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that the epidemic constituted a public health emergency of international concern, a designation that triggers tighter global containment measures and coordination.
“Following the World Health Organization’s decision... I have today declared that the coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States,” U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar said at a public briefing on Friday afternoon.
As of Sunday, U.S. citizens who had been in Hubei would be subject to compulsory quarantine, he said. Foreign nationals - aside from the immediate family of citizens and residents - who had traveled in China in the last 14 days would be denied entry, said Azar.
“The risk is low in the United States... but our job is to keep that risk low as much as we can,” he said.
The move will likely anger Beijing, which has only just started to mend tattered trade ties with Washington. Earlier on Friday, it criticized the U.S. travel warning.
“The World Health Organization urged countries to avoid travel restrictions, but very soon after that, the United States did the opposite,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “It’s truly mean.”
Other countries have also advised citizens to put off non-urgent travel to China or restricted flights. After reporting its first two cases of the illness, Russia on Friday restricted direct flights to China, its biggest trade partner.
Singapore, a major travel hub in Asia, stopped entry of passengers with a recent history of travel to China and also suspended visas for Chinese passport holders.
Many airlines have chosen to cancel or reduce flights, with airline crews pressuring carriers to act.
Governments around the world are evacuating citizens from Hubei. A plane with 83 British and 27 foreign nationals landed in Britain on Friday, while Japan, with 14 confirmed cases, has sent three flights to bring citizens home.
The United States said it would channel all flights from China through seven airports. It has put 195 Americans evacuated to California this week in quarantine.
The virus has an incubation of between one and 14 days, and there are some limited signs it may also be able to spread before any symptoms show.
For a full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak, click: here
GLOBAL REVERBERATIONS
With major fallout inevitable for China’s economy, which is the world’s second largest, global shares posted their biggest weekly and monthly losses since August on Friday.
The outbreak could “reverberate globally,” Moody’s said.
In the latest impact to big name corporations, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) said it planned to halt production of a sport utility vehicle this weekend due to a supply disruption caused by the outbreak.
Home appliance maker Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) issued a similar warning, French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) said its three plants in Wuhan will remain closed until mid-February, and tractor maker Deere & Co (DE.N) said it was temporarily shutting its facilities in China.
WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said the WHO did not support travel or trade curbs. Tedros reiterated in a series of tweets on Friday that his organization had confidence in China’s capacity to control the 2019-nCoV virus.
Slideshow (24 Images)
“Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing and medical supply chains and harming economies. We urge countries and companies to make evidence-based, consistent decisions.”