After the recent return of Dutchies stuck in Wuhan who are now in quarantine, it’s been decided to cancel all KLM flights to China, NOS reports.
The flights have been been suspended until the 15th of March, specifically the flights towards mainland China and the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
Advice was taken from WHO
KLM has made its decision based on the advice given by the World Health Organization, which has urged to avoid all travel to China unless needed to. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a similar travel warning as well. Travel to Hubei, the region where the virus originates from, is considered especially dangerous and unadvised.
From the 16th of March, flights to Shanghai and Beijing will be resumed. Elsewhere, flights towards Xiamen, Hangzhou and Chengdu will be resumed from the 28th of March.
?? KLM Extends Flight Suspension to Mainland #China Until March 15 – Statement
*Link: https://t.co/OUZXceCp3c pic.twitter.com/jqcXoScTK9— Christophe Barraud? (@C_Barraud) February 6, 2020
Infection rates and death toll rising
There are now 28,018 confirmed cases around the world, with the majority being in mainland China, and the death toll has risen to 563 people. Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, is going through its second week of complete shutdown and quarantine. There’s concerns in regards to to the effectiveness of the shutdown, as it has also prevented the transportation of important medical supplies across the Hubei region. The outbreak has tested and strained China’s ability to deal with the issue, some describing it as being a humanitarian disaster.
Dutchies have made it safely home
The Dutch that were stuck in Wuhan arrived at the beginning of this week back home safely, and are currently undergoing quarantine. Two of them have even managed to return back with their Chinese spouses, an interesting situation as China has banned the departure of Chinese spouses together with their foreign co-nationals. So far, none of the Dutch has displayed any of the symptoms of the virus.
Should more countries cancel their flights towards China? Let us know in the comments.
Feature Image: KLM/Supplied