By Ashley Young-
Beijing has cancelled over 1,200 flights, an equivalent of more than 60% of commercial flights in and out of the country, amid a new coronavirus outbreak.
The Communist Party’s Global Times said 1,255 flights to and from the capital’s two airports have been shelved as of Wednesday morning, equivalent to 67% of outgoing and 68% of incoming flights.
Beijing has put a number of measures in place to limit travel in and out of the city, especially among those coming from districts where new cases have been detected.
The city appeared to have successfully battled off cases of local transmission but in recent days added a total of 137 new cases with no new deaths.
Beijing on Wednesday raised its threat level from 3 to 2, leading to the cancellation of classes, suspension of plans for opening up and stiffened requirements for social distancing.
The website of the Communist Party’s Global Times said that as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, a total of 1,255 flights to and from the capital’s two major airports have been scrapped.
The move is a reminder of the threat posed by new cases of Covid-19 arising in Beijing, and ought to in itself convince the British government and any country that is particular about restricting the potential number of new cases from coming into their country.
Many parts of the world are still reeling from the economic effects of the lockdown caused by the disease spread through China.
News that more than half of their commercial flights have been cancelled is good news, but the 40% of flights still operating remains a high enough percentage to re-introduce a crisis many countries are just recovering from.
None essential shops in the UK opened on Monday as the country’s lockdown was eased further with social distancing measures insisted upon.
A resurgence of Covid-19 in China may call for radical steps to prevent passengers into the UK from China in order not to make nonsense of the progress made so far which has seen the number of deaths radically reduce.