Web Report
The coronavirus outbreak has killed more than 300 people and infected more than 14,300 globally, as it continues to spread beyond China. One person outside mainland China has died.
The virus has been confirmed in more than 25 countries and territories since it was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. Countries are now sending planes to evacuate their citizens from the infection zone, and imposing travel bans or restrictions on mainland China.
Nearly 60 million people are under lockdown in Chinese cities as international researchers race to develop a vaccine and halt its spread.
The US and Australia have said they will deny entry to all foreign visitors who had recently been to China, where the 2019-nCov strain of the coronavirus first emerged in December.
Other countries including New Zealand, Russia, Japan, Pakistan, Italy and Singapore have also announced travel restrictions.
On Sunday, South Korea said it would bar entry to foreigners who had recently visited Hubei.
In the US, citizens and residents returning from Hubei will be quarantined for 14 days. Those returning from other parts of China will be allowed to monitor their own condition for a similar period.
The Pentagon said it would provide housing for 1,000 people who may need to be quarantined after arriving in the US from abroad. Four military bases in California, Colorado and Texas would provide up to 250 rooms each.
Another confirmed case in the US on Saturday – in Massachusetts – brought the total number there to eight.
Australia said any of its own citizens arriving from China would also be quarantined for two weeks.
There have also been a number of evacuations from China as foreign governments work to bring their citizens back.
Wuhan is in lockdown and other major cities across the country have suspended non-essential business.
The mayor of Huanggang – a city of six million people to the east of Wuhan – has warned that the number of cases there is set to spike in the coming days, state media said. Up to 700,000 people had returned to the city from Wuhan before travel out of Wuhan was banned.
Huanggang and the eastern city of Wenzhou have imposed draconian restrictions on residents, only allowing one designated person per family to leave home once every two days to buy food and other supplies, Chinese media reported.
