China travel curbs tightened as official admits mishandling virus
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Countries expanded restrictions on travellers from China over a deadly virus epidemic yesterday as an official admitted that a botched response had worsened an outbreak that has now ballooned into a global health emergency.
At least 213 people have died and nearly 10,000 people have been infected in China by the new coronavirus, while fresh cases were found abroad with more than 20 countries now affected.
The top Communist Party official in Wuhan, the central city of 11 million people where the virus first emerged in December, expressed “remorse” because local authorities acted too slowly.
Last week, China’s central government finally jumped into action, effectively sealing off Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province, and curbing travel across the nation of 1.4 billion people.
But the epidemic has spread far and wide as Chinese people travelled across the country and abroad over the Lunar New Year holiday that started last week.
The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the outbreak a global health emergency, but said it was not recommending any international trade or travel restrictions.
Countries nonetheless intensified travel curbs.
The United States told its citizens not to go to China and urged those already there to leave — drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing, which said the move was “certainly not a gesture of goodwill”.
Japan has joined the US, Britain, Germany, and other nations that have recommended that their citizens avoid China.
Citing a likely “sharper rise” in the spread of the virus, Singapore’s Government barred arrivals from China and transit passengers who visited the country in the past 14 days.
Mongolia will ban Chinese nationals and foreigners coming from the neighbouring country by plane, train or road from today until March 2. Mongolians will be barred from going to China as well.