The State Department issued a warning at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for travelers to avoid going to China.
“Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China,” the State Department said in a press release on Friday. “On January 30, the World Health Organization has determined the rapidly spreading outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice. Commercial carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China.”
“Those currently in China should consider departing using commercial means. The Department of State has requested that all non-essential U.S. government personnel defer travel to China in light of the novel coronavirus,” the statement added.
The “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory is the highest level of warning the State Department gives for travel. The CDC has issued its own warning, stating, “CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China.”
Thousands of confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported, along with over a hundred deaths. The CDC has said it is monitoring over 100 patients in the United States for the virus.
