Daily Management Review

Coronavirus Death Toll 204 In China, US Asks Americans Not To Go China


01/31/2020




Coronavirus Death Toll 204 In China, US Asks Americans Not To Go China
Amidst the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the coronavirus in China to be a global health emergency, the United States has asked its citizens to not travel to China. The latest death toll because of the virus has now touched 204 as on Friday. 
 
The travel warning for China was raised by the US State Department in a new travel advisory to the same level as that for Iraq and Afghanistan.  “Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China,” the department said In a notice posted on its website.
 
There have been 204 confirmed cases of deaths because of the virus in the Chinese province which is at the epicenter of the outbreak. Additionally Chinese authorities confirmed of 9,692 cases of infection throughout the country as per latest reports on Thursday. There have so far been no deaths confirmed outside of China even though a total of 129 cases have been confirmed by governments of 22 other countries and regions.
 
Al air transport between Italy and China will be stopped temporarily, said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte which was a far stricter measure than have been adopted by most other countries with respect of travelling to and from China. This was announced after the first confirmed case of the virus infection from Italy of two Chinese tourists.
 
The WHO “doesn’t recommend - and actually opposes” strict restrictions on travel or trade with China, said the director general of the organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
 
The global concern and fear over the virus is because of the fast pace with which it is spread and the fact that doctors and scientists are not yet sure about the degree of mortality or the contagiousness of the virus. It was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei and the seventh largest city of China, in December.
 
 A large number of international airlines have also either stopped or restricted flights to mainland China which includes airlines such as Air France KLM SA, British Airways, Germany’s Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic – those that have completely cancelled all flights.
 
A law suit has been filed by American Airlines’ pilots demanding an immediate stop to flights to into China.
 
One of the big concerns for staff of US airlines was about spreading the virus to their families or being quarantined while on a layover, a US flight attendant who recently landed from one major Chinese city was quoted in the media as saying.
 
“I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation until I went there,” said the attendant. The attendant described how all of the people on the return flight were wearing masks which showed the general paranoia over the situation.
 
Immediate halt to all flights to and from China was demanded by Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) of Australia. “Suspending flights originating from China may appear to be a drastic measure. But the consequence of inaction could be even more drastic. We need national leadership now,” TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement.
 
(Source:www.reuters.com)