Coronavirus scare: Beijing announces 14-day quarantine for all international travellers

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, Beijing on March 11 said that all international arrivals to the city would be quarantined for 14 days. The latest precaution is in a bid to limit imported cases of the novel coronavirus. According to international media reports, Beijing has already required quarantine for people arriving from hard-hit countries including South Korea, Iran, Italy, and Japan, however, now a city government official said that those landing from any nation would now face 14-day isolation. 

In a bid to contain the virus, the biannual auto show of Beijing in China, one of the industry's mega-events was also postponed amid the fears of the coronavirus outbreak, international media reported. The organisers of the mega event, Auto China 2020, reportedly said that the event originally scheduled for April 21-30 in Beijing would be shifted to an undetermined date. The global manufacturers of the automobile companies seek to grow their sales in China's mega-event but recently the market for cars, trucks, vans and luxury vehicles slowed down.

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According to the reports, amid mounting cases of the deadly COVID-19, China resorted to stepping up its quarantine measures on the foreign nationals as well. It also offered assistance to the countries abroad like Iran and Japan which are severely impacted by the contagion. Minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC) Ma Xiaowei told a news conference that despite some success in containing the strain of the new virus, there was a risk of the epidemic rebounding.

The deadly outbreak has led to leaders around the world to roll out bans on big gatherings and stricter travel restrictions. The outbreak has also disrupted flight demand and several airlines have also suspended or modified services in response. Governments worldwide have stepped up efforts to halt the spread of the virus as it has already affected more than 90 countries. 

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More than one lakh infected

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has disrupted many lives since December 2019. As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,783 and more than one lakh worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 3,000 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 29 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to 4,300.

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