BANGKOK, 7 February 2020: China’s aviation authority confirmed 46 foreign airlines suspended flights to and from China this week as novel coronavirus cases increased to 23,800 with 425 fatalities.
“Passenger demand dropped sharply as more countries imposed restrictions on travellers from China. To date, 46 foreign airlines have announced the suspension of flights to and from mainland China,” the statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority of China.
On Sunday, authorities confirmed the first coronavirus-related death outside of China in the Philippines while on Tuesday, Hong Kong reported a second death.
Meanwhile, the UK government increased its travel advisory level advising citizens to leave China if at all possible. Previously the advisory limited the warning to just Wuhan and Hubei province and non-essential travel.
Malaysia confirmed earlier this week that the first Malaysian had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with the remaining nine cases all Chinese tourists.
The Malaysian joined a conference in Singapore, 16 to 23 January, where several international delegations attended including one from China.
Thailand has reported 25 confirmed cases with no fatalities.
Midweek, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health confirmed six cases; four Thais and two Chinese tourists.
Of the Thai people, a husband and wife had travelled to Japan while the other two were bus drivers who had come into contact with Chinese tourists.
A South Korean contracted the disease, but as both Thailand and South Korea have reported local community clusters, the point of infection was not clear.
