Pakistan suspends flights to China amid coronavirus outbreak

Pakistan suspends flights operations to and from China with immediate effect according to a civil aviation official as the coronavirus in China continues to spread.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared coronavirus a global health emergency as the number of infected continues to spread to other countries.

According to sources, Pakistan has suspended flight operations to and from China until the 2nd of February.

Earlier Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health said that Pakistan will not be evacuating the Pakistan students currently in Wuhan city after reports said that four of these students had been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Read more: Govt will not evacuate Pakistanis from China, coronavirus.

He said that Pakistan will not make emotional decision and be part in spreading the virus. Although he clarified that the students in China were being taken care of in a proper way.

According to him, the four students who were infected were doing better and the Pakistani Embassy in China was working with them closely and keeping the government updated on the matter.

Read more: Four Pakistani students diagnosed with Coronavirus in China.

According to report by GEO News, The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will also quatantine Chinese and Southeast Asian ship personnel coming into the country according to chairperson Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar.

The containers coming in will also be thoroughly checked and the ship staff will no longer be allowed to leave the port.

According to this GEO report, more than 30 percent of Pakistan’s trade is with China.

So far the virus has spread to 18 countries other than China with reports of at least 98 cases in these countries although most cases in these countries are people who traveled to Wuhan recently.

However some countries like Germany, Japan, United States and Vietnam has cases where the virus spread from people who had traveled to China to other people.

Many airlines around the world have suspended flights to China amid the coronavirus outbreak and most countries have issued a warning against traveling to China.

Many countries have currently banned entry of people from the Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus emerged.

Even Russia has sealed its border with China on Thursday.

Read more: WHO declares coronavirus global health emergency.

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