TRAVEL BANS by Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and USA

Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and USA has started denying entry to all travelers who have come from or transited through mainland China.

Australia said the new rules started Saturday - however if you're an Australian citizen, permanent resident or their immediate family, or an aircrew member who as been using appropriate protective equipment, you're exempt.

All travelers from mainland China allowed into Australia had to be quarantined for 14 days.

He added that the government raised the travel advice warning to level four, the highest, meaning they're now advising people not to travel to mainlandChina. The warning aims to address “the issue of the human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus.”

Australia's ban followed an earlier move by the US Friday to deny entry to foreign nationals who have traveled in China in the last 14 days. Any US citizen who has been in the Hubei province in the last 14 days will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine upon return to the United States.

New Zealand bans entry to foreigners traveling from China

Auckland Airport

If you've traveled in or transited through mainland China, you won't be allowed into New Zealand as well unless you're a New Zealand national.

The ban will be in place for up to 14 days, and is aimed at helping contain the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. So far, there have been no confirmed coronavirus cases in New Zealand or any South Pacific island.

New Zealand citizens and permanent residents and their immediate family members will still be able to enter - but must self-isolate for 14 days after arriving back into the country as well.

South Korea has banned all foreign nationals who visited Hubei province in the past 14 days

The South Korean government is banning entry to all foreign nationals who visited China's Hubei province in the past 14 days.

The measure starts on February 4, according to South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.

Chung also said South Korean citizens who had visited the province in the past 14 days should voluntarily quarantine themselves at home for two weeks after they arrive back into the country.

A system that allows Chinese citizens to enter South Korea’s Jeju Island without a visa is to be temporarily suspended.

As we mentioned, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have banned all foreign nationals traveling from China from entering the country.

South Korea confirms more cases, total now 15

Three more patients have been confirmed infected with coronavirus in South Korea, bringing the country's total to 15, the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced in a press release.

The KCDC said a 28-year-old man had tested positive. He was among the 368 repatriated South Koreans who arrived from Wuhan on a charter flight on January 31. The rest of the evacuees have tested negative for the coronavirus.

A 40-year-old Chinese woman also tested positive. She was already in quarantine as she is related to another patient who contracted the virus.

Apple has closed all 42 stores in mainland China

Apple is temporarily closing all of its stores in China because of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to Apple's website, all 42 stores will be closed until February 9. The website still works for customers in China.

Travel bans plunge China into isolation

The growing coronavirus epidemic is isolating China, as other countries, trying to ward off infection or contain their own smaller outbreaks bar, entry to travellers from China, and companies including Apple scale down travel and business there.

On Saturday, Australia followed the US by imposing a ban on entry to most travellers from China. Canberra said citizens, residents or relatives would still be allowed in. Countries including Uzbekistan and Vietnam cancelled flights from China altogether.

The UK announced on Saturday it had withdrawn all but essential staff from embassies and consulates in China, as authorities at home dealt withfallout from the first two cases confirmed in Britain – a student at the University of York and a visiting relative.

Authorities are trying to trace people who had “close contact” with the pair – which is defined as spending at least 15 minutes within two metres of the infected person.

By Saturday, 13,968 cases and 304 deaths had been confirmed, 45 of them overnight in Hubei province. But the rapid spread of the virus beyondChinese borders has raised fears that other countries could face large-scale outbreaks, and many governments are taking increasingly strongmeasures to prevent an epidemic on their territory.

Dozens of commercial carriers have cut back or halted flights to China, and several hotel chains have said they will allow cancellations by Chinesetravellers. Major companies have banned travel to the country, while international retailers such as Starbucks and Apple have shut stores.

Cases of human-to-human transmission, which has driven the fast rise in infections inside China, have been detected several countries, such Germany, Thailand, Taiwan, France, Spain, Japan and the US.

USA issues a new security directive to airlines

Airlines operating in the United States will be required to ask all passengers booked on flights from outside the US if they’ve been to mainland China in last 14 days. The Transport Security Administration (TSA) will issue a new security directive to airlines from Sunday, according to a person briefedon the restrictions.

Chinese nationals coming from China and connecting through another foreign airport will be denied travel. Those with pre-clearance are exempted.

There are also new directives that relate to US citizens. US citizens who have been to China in the last 14 days need to re-book to one of seven gateway airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Los Angeles International Airport, Seattle, San Francisco International Airport,Chicago, Atlanta and Honolulu.

Avian Influenza in China Adds to Economic Concerns Amid Coronavirus Spread

China pledges more support for its economy, exempts from punitive tariffs products imported from the U.S. to control the outbreak

Chinese authorities announced Saturday a recurrence of avian influenza in chickens in central China, adding fresh economic concerns for a countryreeling from an outbreak of coronavirus that has sickened nearly 12,000 people since it emerged in December.

In a sign of the pressure already on China, Australia and Vietnam joined the U.S. and others in distancing their citizens from the country over thecoronavirus, while Apple Inc. shut its stores on the Chinese mainland and Beijing pledged more support for embattled businesses.

The avian influenza is likely to add to the economic damage rather than pose a major immediate health risk. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that a case of H5N1 avian influenza, last identified in China in April last year , had killed 4,500 chickens in central Hunan province,prompting authorities to cull another nearly 18,000 birds. But while avian influenza can be fatal in humans, with a mortality rate of 60%, according tothe World Health Organization, it doesn’t spread easily to humans.

In addition to the coronavirus, China has been grappling with an outbreak of African swine fever that has decimated the country’s pig population overthe past two years. Pork is China’s main source of protein, and swine fever last year pushed overall consumer inflation to the highest level in eightyears.

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Business Tianjin 2020 January issue

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