US widens virus travel scans, seeks entry to outbreak zone

U.S. health officials told travelers to avoid all non-essential trips to China, ramped up screening at airports and called for more cooperation from their Chinese counterparts as they rush to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that’s claimed more than 100 lives.

The U.S. is trying to get front-line public health experts into China so the new, fast-moving pathogen can be better understood. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he has repeatedly raised that possibility with Chinese officials for weeks and is hopeful a U.S. team will be let in.

“We are urging China, more cooperation and transparency are the most important steps you can take toward a more effective response,” Azar said at a press briefing in Washington Tuesday. He said the Chinese government has been far more open with this outbreak than it was with SARS in 2003, the pandemic that killed almost 800 people.

Meanwhile, United Airlines Holdings Inc. said on Tuesday it would suspend most of its flights between the U.S. and China starting Feb. 1, citing a big drop in demand.

On Tuesday, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the two sides agreed to send international experts to China as soon as possible, an announcement that could lead to U.S. experts getting access.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is spearheading the U.S. effort to contain the virus, said it is now screening passengers from China at 20 airports, up from five airports last week. While the risk to the American public is considered low, the precautions are necessary to stop its spread, officials said.

“While it’s possible that some person-to-person spread with this virus may be detected in the United States, the goal of the ongoing U.S. public health response is to contain this outbreak and prevent sustained spread in this country,” the CDC said in a statement Tuesday.

U.S. officials said they have not been given the opportunity to review data from China that suggested transmission might be possible even in patients who aren’t showing the disease’s flu-like symptoms. Even if there are rare instances of asymptomatic transmission, they’re unlikely to become a major factor in the spread, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“Asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of outbreaks” for any respiratory virus, Fauci said at the press briefing.

China Spread

Hong Kong earlier announced restrictions on travel from mainland China. It will close some border checkpoints and restrict flights, trains and ferries from the mainland, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Tuesday. The Chinese government is also suspending visas for visitors to the territory, she said.

The new measures mark a step change in efforts to contain the virus, after China effectively locked down about 50 million people in Wuhan and Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. The latest moves are aimed at protecting an Asian financial hub that was already reeling from months of anti-Beijing protests.

“We have to start with the source,” Lam said at a press conference, wearing a surgical mask. “This should greatly reduce visitors from China.”

Other disruptions to global businesses, travel and the world’s second-largest economy are growing. China has extended the Lunar New Year break, while companies ranging from Starbucks Corp. to Japanese retailer Uniqlo are shutting sites.

Citing “a significant decline in demand for travel,” United said it would suspend two dozen daily flights to and from Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai starting Saturday. That represents the majority of its schedule between the two countries. The carrier, which has the most capacity to China among U.S. airlines, said it would continue to the monitor the situation.

There were about 36 passenger flights a day from China to the U.S. in the 12 months ending in July, the latest period for which information is available, said Airlines for America, a trade group. In addition, there were about 13 cargo flights a day, according to the analysis, which was based on U.S. Transportation Department data. The numbers include flights by U.S. and Chinese carriers.

The spread of the illness has reignited concerns over global growth. Stocks continued a selloff in Asia, though European shares stabilized and U.S. futures edged higher. China’s markets remained closed for the holiday.

The new Hong Kong travel restrictions, which take effect at midnight Thursday and follow China’s suspension of package tours, come as the death toll in China reached 106 and the number of confirmed cases soared 65% to 4,515. Lower numbers of infections have been reported throughout Asia as well as in the U.S., France and Canada.

Germany confirmed its first case on Tuesday, a 33-year-old man in Bavaria who was one of the first to fall ill with the virus without having traveled to China. Instead, he became infected after a visit from a Chinese colleague, officials said.

Public anger has grown over China’s response as the virus’s spread threatens a fragile economy after Beijing and Washington reached agreement on a phase one trade deal. The restrictions on travel will hurt tourism and consumption, while the extended holiday will hold back industrial production just as factories would normally be restarting.

Global corporations are urging employees in the region — or those who have recently returned from China — to work from home. Nissan Motor Co. and other automakers plan to evacuate workers from the hardest-hit areas, while Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have suspended voyages leaving China.

The U.S. and other nations—including France, Japan, South Korea and Australia—were negotiating with China to arrange flights to evacuate diplomats, personnel and citizens.