White House Considers China Flight Ban as Coronavirus Outbreak Worsens; 132 Dead; Americans Evacuated from Wuhan

The White House is considering suspending flights to and from China as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. The death toll stands at 132, up from 106 on Tuesday.

USA Today reports: “The administration has discussed the prospect of suspending flights to China, but has not made a decision, officials said, denying some media reports that it had. On Wednesday, British Airways suspended flights to and from mainland China after the country’s Foreign Office warned against ‘all but essential travel.’ Asian budget carriers Lion Air and Seoul Air are also suspending all flights to China and several other airlines including Finnair, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and Singapore-based Jetstar Asia are reducing the number of flights to the country.”

Nearly 6,000 cases of the illness have been reported in China and people who have never visited China are falling ill in Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam, according to the New York Times: “China said on Wednesday that 132 people had died from the virus, which is believed to have originated in the central city of Wuhan and is spreading across the country. The previous count, on Tuesday, was 106.”

There have been 5 confirmed cases in the U.S. – two in California, one in Arizona, one in Washington, and one in Illinois – and health officials are screening in 26 states, according to Business Insider.

A jet evacuated up to 240 Americans from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the health crisis, TIME reports: “The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, where the latest coronavirus outbreak started, and other U.S. citizens. The plane will make a refueling stop in Alaska before flying on to Ontario, California, the U.S. Embassy in China has said.”