Frightened Asian tourists cancel flights, stay home

The South Korean government’s advisory to its citizens to delay trips to countries and territories where the Covid-19 coronavirus has been found has resulted in numerous flight cancellations to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

South Korea has remained relatively free of the contagion, although one of its citizens was found to be infected after returning from Thailand.

Its news media have also reported that the virus is rampant in North Korea, which shares a porous border with China.

Thai Airways this week reported a 30-per-cent plunge in its bookings for round-trip flights between Bangkok and Seoul and said it was dropping four weekly flights as a result from February 26-March 28.

Twenty-one THAI flights a week will remain on the schedule, however.

The national carrier said it might also cancel some flights to Japan because people there are similarly showing reluctance to travel to Thailand.

Seoul-based carriers Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Asiana Airlines and Korean Air have also reduced the number of flights to Thailand.

Wing Commander Suthirawat Suwanawat, Airports of Thailand’s general manager at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, said Thailand’s premier air hub is seeing far fewer foreign tourists because of the virus outbreak.

“We’re getting 140,000 people a day this month – 60,000 fewer than last year, which represents a 30-per-cent decrease,” he said.

“The reason is that people in China, South Korea and Japan have begun postponing plans to travel elsewhere in Asia, especially in Japan now, where a death from the virus has caused alarm.”

If the crisis persists into April, he said, the airport reckons passenger volume will grow by a mere 3 per cent, far less than the annual averages until now.

“Airports of Thailand says that, because of the virus, airlines cancelled 2,762 flights through Suvarnabhumi Airport from January 24 to February 13, which averages out to 132 flights a day,” Suthirawat said.

Source - TheNation

Schengen countries extend suspension of visa issuance in China in wake of coronavirus

China

Following the suspension of all visa issuance in China, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the visa centers of the seven Schengen member countries that were supposed to re-open on Feb. 3, have remained closed.

The member countries have instead announced that the suspension period will be extended until Feb. 9 at the earliest.

A notice published by the Slovak visa center in China indicated that the re-opening of the centers may change, dependent on advice from authorities.

“In light of the current coronavirus alert, please note that the Slovakia Visa Application Centers across China will remain closed until Feb. 9 (included). However, the re-opening of the centers may change, subject to further notifications from central, provincial and city authorities. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and kind co-operation. Please return to this page for further updates,” the notice reads as reported by schengenvisainfo.com.

As there is no improvement in the coronavirus epidemic, with the death toll rising to 497 as of Wednesday, authorities for the Schengen member countries extended their closure for at least a week more than intended.

The Schengen members involved are:

    Austria – Feb. 9
    Belgium – Feb. 9
    Estonia – Feb. 10
    Liechtenstein – Feb. 10
    Norway – Feb. 10
    Slovakia – Feb. 9
    Switzerland – Feb. 10

France remains the only Schengen country that has announced the closure of the Wuhan Visa Application Center, while the European Union prepares to tighten entry conditions for Chinese nationals who have traveled to China in recent months.

Cautionary action has been taken by numerous countries as the coronavirus has infected more than 20,000 people in China since emerging in December and has now spread to more than 20 countries. 

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Russia suspends visa-free tourist travel to and from China over virus

Russia said on Saturday it was suspending visa-free travel for tourists to and from China to help contain the outbreak of a new coronavirus that emerged in China.

A bilateral visa-free regime for tourist groups agreed on in 2000 will suspended from Feb. 2, a government decree said.

Russia will also temporarily stop accepting and issuing documents for work visas to Chinese nationals.

Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus on Friday and restricted direct flights to China, its biggest trade partner.

The Russian military is to start evacuating Russian citizens from China due to the outbreak. 

Source - TheJakartaPost

Airports ramp up health monitoring amid Chinese pneumonia outbreak

Airport authorities in Greater Jakarta will increase health monitoring of passengers on international flights from China and Hong Kong amid growing concern about a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, in eastern China.

According to a circular issued by the health office of Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, earlier this month, authorities will enforce a number of prevention and monitoring measures on passengers landing at the airport, as well as Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in East Jakarta.

All airlines serving direct or transit flights from China and Hong Kong were advised to immediately provide health documents in the form of general declarations, as well as passenger manifests to the officials in the health office.

“Passengers coming from countries with reported cases of pneumonia infection will be screened by thermal scanner as well as syndromic surveillance,” says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post.

The office also recommended that all people working in the airport wear protective devices to reduce the chance of infection from people suspected of being infected by the disease.

“If you suffer from fever, cough or throat problems, contact medical personnel immediately,” the health office wrote in the circular.

The Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) warned in a statement issued last Friday that people traveling to countries with outbreaks of the disease should wear masks at all times.

“After returning from places with outbreaks, immediately consult doctors if you experience a high fever or other symptoms of the infection. You should also tell the doctor of your recent travels to the outbreak sites,” the PDPI wrote in a statement.

Since December last year, dozens of cases of pneumonia have been reported in Wuhan. The disease is associated with a previously unidentified coronavirus related to the deadly Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday that China had reported to the organization 139 new cases of coronavirus infection in Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen over the past two days. The increased number was said to be the result of “increased searching and testing for 2019-nCoV [2019-novel coronavirus] among people sick with respiratory illness”.

The WHO had recently confirmed the first infection case outside China, with a doctor in Bangkok confirming a Chinese traveler was diagnosed with pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.

According to the WHO, there are also other suspected cases in other cities around the region, such as Singapore and Seoul.

The outbreak has caused alarm because of the link with SARS, which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003.