COVID-19: Countries issue travel and health advisories to citizens

Countries around the world have issued travel and health advisories to citizens travelling by air to different parts of the world to combat coronavirus.

Most airlines with their flights to China or halts in China has been cancelled. However, since airports around the world have become hotbeds for transmission of the coronavirus, strict instructions have been issued by governments to ensure the safety of the passengers.

India has advised its citizens to refrain from travelling to China and added that anyone with a travel history in China since January 15, 2020 could be quarantined.

India is also doing everything to control the possible transmission of the virus in the country. E-visa facility for Chinese passport holders has been temporarily suspended while e-visa already issued to Chinese nationals will not be valid temporarily. 

The United States has issued a red level emergency notification from level 3 which is reconsidering travel to level 4 which is a do not travel notification.

The US has also banned entry to foreign nationals who travelled to China in the last 14 days. The advisory says the citizens returning to the US Who have been in Hubei province in the last 14 days will be quarantined for two weeks. Citizens returning to the US from the rest of Mainland China in the last 14 days will also undergo a health screening and self-quarantine.

The advisory says US citizens currently in China must consider departing using commercial means. 

The UK has also issued a strict travel advisory for its citizens travelling to and from China and other parts of South Asia. 

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has restricted all travel to Hubei province due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak. The FCO advises against all but essential travel to the rest of Mainland China. Foreign nationals who have travelled to China in the last 2 weeks will also not get entry to the UK. 

British nationals who travelled to Hubei since January will be quarantined, it said.

Some British airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have announced a suspension of flights to and from Mainland China.

The travellers have also been advised to practise extreme caution while travelling to Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines.

The government of Canada has recommended Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to china and avoid all travel to Hubei province.

Travellers returning to Canada from areas affected by a coronavirus, particularly from Hubei province, will be quarantined or self quarantined for 14 days, it said.

Canadians also have to monitor their health and avoid contact with people for 14 days after their return from Mainland China, it said.