News Desk :
China is facing an increased international isolation following the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak that has so far killed 132 and infected nearly 6,000.
President Xi Jinping has called the deadly virus a ‘devil’, as his country was apparently struggling to contain it.
“It is a devil and we cannot allow the devil to hide,” Xi told WHO head Tedros Ghebreyesus during their meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
The virus has already reached 16 countries posing a serous public health concern around the globe.
Meanwhile, foreign airlines began suspending flights to and from China yesterday as global fears mounted over a coronavirus epidemic.
The announcements came hours after countries began airlifts to evacuate foreigners trapped in Wuhan, the quarantined central Chinese city of 11 million people at the epicentre of the health emergency.
A growing number of governments, including the United States, Britain and Germany, have in recent days advised their citizens to avoid non-essential travel to China over concerns about the viral outbreak.
China has itself urged its citizens to delay trips abroad, with at least 16 countries having confirmed cases of the disease.
The United Arab Emirates reported the first known case in the Middle East on Wednesday.
British Airways was the first major airline to announce a total suspension of flights to and from China, citing the travel advice of the foreign office.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” BA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Indonesia’s Lion Air Group, Southeast Asia’s biggest carrier by fleet size, then said it would halt services to and from China from Saturday “until further notice”.
In Myanmar, the three airlines that have routes into neighbouring China also said those flights would also be suspended from Saturday.
Cathay Pacific also cut flights, citing low demand and the Hong Kong government’s response plan against the virus.
And in one of the most dramatic measures, the tiny Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea announced Wednesday that travellers from Asia would not be allowed in.
However many other airlines said they were continuing their China services.
The Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan will also suspend railway and air traffic with neighbouring China as of February 1 and 3, respectively, because of fears of the newly discovered coronavirus, state media reported.
Kazakhstan’s government has also decided to “suspend the issuance of visas for Chinese citizens as of February 3 amid the coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan,” state news agency Kazinform reported.
No incident of the new coronavirus has so far been reported in the central Asian nation.China has taken other extraordinary measures to try and stop the disease spreading, including bans on tour groups travelling overseas, suspending schools and extending the Lunar New Year holiday.
Authorities also last week imposed transport bans in and around Wuhan in an unprecedented quarantine effort, leaving more than 50 million people shuttered in their homes.
Thousands of foreigners have been among those trapped in Wuhan, which has become a near ghost-town with car travel banned and residents staying indoors.
Countries have scrambled for days to try and get their citizens out of Wuhan safely, but have faced huge logistical, medical and bureaucratic hurdles.
A US charter flight left Wuhan on Wednesday with about 200 Americans on board, including consulate staff.
Another 200 people were aboard a Japanese flight which landed in Tokyo on Wednesday morning.
Medical professionals were on the plane to carry out checks but officials said they had no legal basis to forcibly quarantine people who have not tested positive for the virus.
They would instead be asked to remain at home and avoid crowds until the results of the tests were known.
Other countries were planning more stringent quarantine measures, with Australia to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan and temporarily house them on an island normally used to detain asylum seekers.
France said it would keep its returnees in a holding facility in Paris for 14 days — the estimated incubation period for the virus.
