Coronavirus: US and Australia to refuse arrivals from China as death toll hits 294

Citizens of both countries who recently visited China will be quarantined upon arrival

A mother reacts as she pleads with police to allow her daughter to pass a checkpoint for cancer treatment after she arrived from Hubei province at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge in Jiujiang, JiangxShow more

The United States will deny entry to any foreign nationals who visited China in recent weeks in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that has killed at least 294 people.

US Health Secretary Alex Azar said that US citizens returning from China would be quarantined for 14 days.

The Australian government also said on Saturday said it would bar non-citizens arriving from mainland China from entering the country under new measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said only "Australian citizens, Australian residents, dependents, legal guardians or spouses" would be permitted into the country from mainland China from Saturday.

"The arrangements are being put in place through our border authorities to ensure that that can be actioned," he added.

Australian officials have confirmed 10 cases of coronavirus in the country so far. Canberra said it will make available 500,000 masks to airport staff and arriving passengers.

On Saturday the US announced its eighth case.

The Pentagon said it would provide housing for more than 1,000 arriving from overseas who might need to be quarantined.

It comes as the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health emergency.

Qantas Airways, Australia's flag carrier, said earlier Saturday it would suspend its two direct flights to mainland China - Sydney to Beijing and Shanghai - from February 9 because of various virus-linked international restrictions.

Air New Zealand followed suit, announcing a suspension of its Auckland-Shanghai service from February 9.

In the UAE, Abu Dhabi’s education authority reassured parents that no cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the capital.

The emirate's Department of Education and Knowledge sent out a text on Saturday to address the issue.

“Dear parents, in an effort to address your concerns with regards to the Novel Corona virus (nCoV) in the UAE, we would like to confirm that there have been no cases reported in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi,” the text read.

The education regulator also advised parents to keep children at home and seek medical help if they show warning signs of the illness.

“As a precautionary measure, we advise you to consult a doctor if your child exhibits any symptoms of fever, flu or respiratory illness and keep your child at home until he/she is well.”

Erbil International Airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq denied entry to three Chinese citizens over fears about the coronavirus outbreak in China, authorities said on Saturday.

The three passengers were sent back to Dubai, from where they had flown to Erbil, a statement from Kurdistan's airport authority said. Several countries tightened travel curbs on Friday, a day after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency.

Iraq's Basra International Airport said on Friday it was denying entry to passengers of any nationality traveling to Iraq from China.

With Britain, Russia and Sweden among the countries confirming their first infections, the virus has now spread to more than two dozen nations, sending governments scurrying to limit their exposure.

Similar steps have been taken by countries including Italy, Singapore, and China's northern neighbour Mongolia.

The United States, Japan, Britain, Germany and other nations had already advised their citizens not to travel to China.

Beijing insists it can contain the virus and called Washington's advice against travel to China "unkind".

"Certainly it is not a gesture of goodwill," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

The US emergency declaration also requires Americans returning from the ground zero Chinese province of Hubei to be placed in mandatory 14-day quarantine, and health screening for American citizens coming from other parts of China.

The virus emerged in early December and has been traced to a market in Hubei's capital Wuhan that sold wild animals.

It spread globally on the wings of a Lunar New Year holiday rush that sees hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel domestically and overseas.

In a bid to stop the contagion, the government has extended the holiday through this weekend and urged people to avoid public gatherings.

Many provinces and cities have called on companies to remain closed for another week after the holiday ends on Monday.

The economic fallout continued Saturday as Apple announced that its China stores would be closed until February 9, "out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts."

China's Premier Li Keqiang has asked the European Union to facilitate China's urgent procurement of medical supplies from member countries, the Chinese government said on Saturday.

Indonesian officials said on Saturday that around 250 of its nationals being evacuated from China's Hubei province, the centre of the coronavirus epidemic, will be quarantined in its Natuna Islands military base.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said all the evacuees, along with five officials arranging their return on the Batik Air flight, were healthy and that further medical checks would be conducted on board the plane and at their arrival in Indonesia.

Military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said the evacuees would be housed at the military facility on the northern Natuna Besar island, which has a hospital, for "transit observation."

The epidemic has continued to wreak havoc on the international sporting calendar. The Lingshui China Masters badminton tournament, part of the qualifying process for the Tokyo Olympics, was postponed on Saturday.

Organisers made the decision to put off the event, which was scheduled to take place from February 25 to March 1 in Hainan, after a number of players withdrew.

African countries are scrambling to avert an outbreak of the rapidly spreading coronavirus strain, as health officials warn that the poorest countries are ill-equipped to combat the deadly disease.

Across the continent, governments have stationed nurses at airports to check for feverish passengers and have suspended Chinese entry visas, while ordinary people grow increasingly nervous.

There have been no verified infections in Africa to date, but deep trade links with China and often overstretched healthcare systems are raising concerns about the capacity to respond to an outbreak.

"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the disease risked taking root if it reaches certain African countries.

He warned that such a scenario could usher in a "global pandemic".