The United States and other countries tightened travel and trade restrictions yesterday, and said they face supply problems due to the Corona virus in China, a day after the World Health Organization declared a world emergency and warned that closing borders to halt transmission of the virus infection might not be a measure Effectively, it may even accelerate its spread.
With the number of deaths reaching 213, all in China, the United States has warned its citizens not to travel there, as the virus was first detected in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province.
Japan advised its citizens not to travel to China unless absolutely necessary, while the Iranian Minister of Health called for denying entry to all travelers from China, and Britain announced monitoring of the first two cases of the virus.
Singapore said it will temporarily suspend entry to travelers who have gone to China recently, and will also suspend the issuance of visas to Chinese passport holders. The ban, which comes into effect today, will also apply to travelers who stop on their Singapore travel.
The government of Italy decided to declare a state of emergency, and stopped all air traffic with China, after it announced the first two cases, which were Chinese tourists.
Beijing did not follow the US warning, but in response to the WHO announcement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that her country "has taken the most comprehensive and strongest measures of prevention and control."
"We have full confidence and ability to win the battle against this epidemic," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanum Gebreios, praised China for its efforts. He said the organization does not recommend imposing travel or trade restrictions with China. A spokesperson for the organization said that keeping the borders open prevents cases from crossing illegally.
A spokesman for the organization, Christian Lindemeyer, told reporters in Geneva that the closure of the official border passes leads to "losing the ability to track people and monitor their (movements)".
Lindmayer warned that countries' efforts to stop the virus by closing borders and preventing entry from China could backfire.
"But the only way to monitor, for example, by checking the temperature, is through official flights, and to make sure that those coming across the official border bear signs of injury," added Lindemeyer.
"This is a very important reason to keep the official border crossing points open," said the WHO spokesman.
And in London, British health officials announced yesterday that two new cases of Coronavirus were registered, in the first confirmed cases in the country since the epidemic appeared in China, and began to spread globally this month.
"We can confirm that the results (of the exams) conducted for two patients in the UK belonging to the same family were positive for infection of the Corona virus," said Britain's chief physician, Chris Whitty.
Russia announced yesterday, the first confirmed two cases of the Corona virus emerging in the Chinese, and it will return its citizens from several regions in China, due to the outbreak of the epidemic.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Tatyana Golikova, said in a statement carried by the Russian news agency that the two injuries were recorded in the Tyumen region in the Urals and in Tanskebali in the far east of Russia.
Despite the high number of infections and deaths due to the spread of the new Corona virus worldwide, the African continent has not yet recorded a confirmed case of the virus.
- Tightening travel restrictions to China and "Corona" deaths reaching 213.
China has taken stronger measures to prevent and control the virus.