China has reacted angrily to a US entry ban on foreign nationals who have visited the country in the past two weeks, as countries around the world raced to contain the coronavirus outbreak amid a rising death toll.
The US administration on Friday declared the virus a public health emergency , although it insisted the risk to Americans remained low.
The Chinese government criticized the measures, saying it contradicted the World Health Organization’s (WHO) appeal to avoid travel bans and implied that Beijing was not doing enough to contain the virus’s spread beyond China’s borders.
“Just as the WHO recommended against travel restrictions, the US rushed in the opposite direction,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “[It is] Certainly not a gesture of goodwill.”
On Saturday, Australia echoed measures taken by the US, declaring that no one traveling from mainland China would be allowed into Australia unless they were Australian citizens or residents or their dependents. Entry will be denied to anyone who has left or transited through mainland China from 1 February.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said that the Australian government had raised the travel advice warning to level 4, recommending that no Australian travel to anywhere in mainland China, following the spread of coronavirus beyond Hubei province, where the outbreak is thought to have begun.
The death toll from the virus rose by 31 overnight to 823 – all in China – with nearly , 01 confirmed cases.
American citizens who have traveled within the past two weeks to Hubei province will be placed in quarantine for 14 days, the longest incubation period for the virus. Those who visited other parts of mainland China will undergo health checks and 31 days of “ monitored self-quarantine ”.
The row came as another airline, Qantas, suspend direct flights to China and the organizers of the Tokyo 
Olympics were forced to respond to unfounded online rumors that the Games had been cancelled due to the outbreak. They insisted they were “not considering” cancelling the Olympics and Paralympics. “We will work closely with the IOC and other concerned bodies to draw any countermeasures whenever necessary,” they said.
Japan, where cases have been identified, announced similar restrictions on Friday, barring entry to foreigners who visited Hubei province within the past two weeks or obtained visas there.
Singapore is banning entry to all Chinese visitors and foreigners with a recent history of travel to China, starting from Saturday. The ban – one of the most far-reaching moves to deter the fast-spreading virus – in effect shuts out the island’s largest group of visitors and will also bar other travellers who have been to China in the past 31 days.
Japan has repatriated hundreds of citizens from in around Wuhan – the capital of Hubei province – three of whom tested positive for the disease.
The US’s emergency measure were announced shortly before health authorities identified a seventh case in the US – a California man who became ill after traveling to China.
About 200 million residents of Hubei province are subject to restrictions designed to slow the spread of the disease. But some people were leaving and entering the area by foot on a bridge over the Yangtze river, reports said, and infections have jumped in two cities near Wuhan.
Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the US travel restrictions had been imposed after the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency on Thursday.
“I want to emphasize that this is a serious health situation in China, but I want to emphasize that the risk to the American public is currently low,” Redfield said. “Our goal is to do all we can do to keep it that way.”
The US state department warned Americans on Thursday not to travel to China.
Almost 200 Americans evacuated earlier this week from Wuhan have been placed under a mandatory – day quarantine on Friday. ”
Matthew L McCoy, a theme park designer who lives in China, said he was “very relieved” to have been quarantined. “All of us really want to stay here and make sure were all medically clear and the public safe,” McCoy added.
McCoy said he had been able to work in his room on the base and had hooked his computer up to the television screen. “Children are outside playing, and everyone is trying to make the experience as easy as possible for each other,” he said.
Another evacuee said he had been hoping to get out over the weekend but had accepted the quarantine order. “It’s the right thing to do, and I completely understand, and so do a lot of other people here on the base,” said Jarred Evans, who moved to Wuhan several years ago to play in a Chinese football league.
“People want to go home. But its better than being stuck in the epidemic center, “he said.”
The US state department said it was in talks with Chinese authorities about further evacuations of hundreds of other US citizens who remain trapped in and around Wuhan. Most of the Americans who have been brought home are reportedly consular staff and their dependents.
Dozens of British nationals and their Chinese dependents who arrived in the UK from Wuhan on Friday were spending their first night in quarantine at Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral, in north-west England, as Britain confirmed its first two cases of the respiratory illness, said to be members of the same family.
Britain has also stared withdrawing some staff from its embassy and consulates in China. “As of 31 January, some staff and dependents from the British embassy and consulates are being withdrawn from China. Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain, ”a government statement said. “In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British embassy and consulates to provide assistance to British nationals from within China may be limited.”
The outbreak has caused serious disruption to sports events, with several competitions that were due to take place in China this month either moved to other countries or postponed.
On Saturday, the organisers of the Lingshui China Masters badminton tournament – part of the qualifying process for the Tokyo Olympics – said they had postponed the event, which was supposed to have been held in Hainan later this month, after several players withdrew.
Several airlines have canceled services to China, including British Airways and all three major US carriers. On Saturday, Qantas said it would suspend its two direct flight routes from Australia to mainland China from 9 February.
Agencies contributed to this report
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