The United States angered China on Friday with a warning to Americans not to travel there because of a coronavirus epidemic that has rattled the global economy with increasing disruption to business supply lines.

Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the flu-like virus first identified earlier this month has resulted in 213 deaths in China. Wuhan and the surrounding region are in virtual quarantine.

More than 9,800 people have been infected in China and more than 130 cases reported in at least 25 other countries and regions, with Russia, Britain, Sweden and Italy all reporting their first cases on Thursday or Friday.

“Do not travel to China due to the novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan,” the U.S. State Department said, raising the warning for China to the same level as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Beijing, which has only just started to mend tattered trade ties with Washington, responded sharply. It noted the World Health Organization (WHO) has commended Chinese containment efforts and not recommended travel or trade curbs.

“The World Health Organization urged countries to avoid travel restrictions, but very soon after that, the United States did the opposite,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “It’s truly mean.”

Many other countries have also advised citizens to put off non-urgent travel to China. After reporting its first two cases of the illness, Russia on Friday restricted direct flights to China, its biggest trade partner.

Panama’s canal authority said vessels that had passed through countries where coronavirus had been confirmed had to report that to authorities.

Singapore, a major travel hub in Asia, stopped entry of passengers with a recent history of travel to China and also suspended visas for Chinese passport holders.

With major fallout inevitable for China’s economy, which is the world’s second largest, global shares were heading for their biggest weekly losses since August on Friday. [MKTS/GLOB]

The outbreak could “reverberate globally”, Moody’s said.

In the latest impact to big name corporations, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor said it planned to halt production of a sport utility vehicle this weekend due to a supply disruption caused by the outbreak. Sangyong Motor said it would idle its plant in the South Korean city of Pyeongtaek from Feb. 4-12 for the same reason.

Source:- Reuters

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