Coronavirus: the countries that have cut or reduced links with China

The Wuhan coronavirus epidemic has so far left over a thousand victims in China, while the number of people infected is 43,000. Outside China, the country most affected is Japan with 161 infected (of which about 140 are passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship), followed by Singapore (45), Thailand (33) and South Korea (28). In Europe and North America only a few dozen cases have occurred. There are no official confirmations of infections in Africa and Latin America. To counter the spread of the coronavirus, several governments have introduced travel restrictions to and from China.


Beijing (AsiaNews) - Hong Kong has closed most of the border crossings with China and all visitors arriving from Chinese territory are forced to a quarantine period.

Macau forbids entry to residents from Hubei if they do not prove with a medical certificate that they did not contract the virus.

Only Chinese who come from Hong Kong and Macao can enter Taiwan, as long as they have a residence permit on the island. However, travelers passing through the two Chinese special regions are quarantined for two weeks.

Japan has closed its borders to all foreigners who have passed through the Chinese province of Hubei in the 14 days prior to their eventual arrival in Japanese territory.

South Korea has taken similar measures, also banning the arrival of Chinese tourists on the island of Jeju. North Korea, on the other hand, closed the borders with China and reduced air connections with the Chinese airports.

Australia allows its citizens to return from China, but they are then subjected to a 14-day quarantine. Foreigners can only enter the country after 14 days after leaving or passing through the Chinese territory.

New Zealand has blocked all flights from China for two weeks starting February 3.

Indonesia also suspended visas for visitors from China and blocked all direct air links to Chinese airports.

Vietnam quarantines all foreigners who enter their territory after visiting China in the previous two weeks.

Singapore has effectively blocked connections with China. Malaysia has imposed a total ban on those from the provinces of Hubei, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Thailand only allows travelers from China who can certify to having good health to enter.

Entry into the Philippines from all over China, including Hong Kong and Macau, is prohibited.

Those entering India from China are placed in quarantine, while the visas of foreign travelers arriving from Chinese territory have been canceled. Bangladesh does not issue entry visas for anyone traveling from China. Pakistan canceled a previous suspension of air links with Chinese cities on 2 February.

Saudi Arabia prevents foreigners arriving from China from entering the country. Saudi nationals and foreigners residing in Saudi territory cannot travel to China.

Britain advises its citizens to leave China and not to enter Chinese territory. The US government also advises not to travel to the Asian country, and has temporarily banned foreigners from Chinese airports from entering unless they reside in the United States or have kinship ties with American citizens. Canada has canceled all flights to and from China until February 29th.

Several European states have blocked air links with China. The ban for Italy, which will run until April 28, also includes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Russia has introduced severe restrictions on entering China. Only the Aeroflot flag carrier can reach China.

Other countries have adopted restrictive measures to contain the spread of the virus: Brunei, Mongolia, Maldives, Nepal, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Turkey, Morocco, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago.