The death toll from a flu-like virus on Tuesday increased by over 100, and FaceBook Inc, as well as other global companies such as LG Electronics Inc and Standard Chartered Plc are restricting traveling to China.
Airlines also cancel flights and change schedules as increasing numbers of countries alert not only Hubei, where the latest corónavirus occurred, but also the rest of mainland China.
The US warned, Monday, that Americans would be “rethinking” visits to China, while the US on Tuesday warned South Korea not to visit China.
After the US government warned that Facebook was the first big US corporation to declare a travel suspension.
The US social media company asked employees to halt non-essential travel to mainland China and told employees who had traveled there to work from home, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken steps to protect the health and safety of our employees,” the spokesman told Reuters.
LG, the home appliances manufacturer in South Korea, imposed a full prohibition on travel to China and urged its workers in the country to return home as soon as possible, a spokesperson for the company said.
In the case of South Korean SK Hynix Inc workers were advised by Standard Chartered banking groups to avoid all unimportant trips to China while traveling to Hong Kong and China was limited to Taiwan.
In Germany, car manufacturer Webasto has 11 China sites like Wuhan. After the virus, and an employee’s illness, all business trips to and from China have been discontinued.
Japan’s Honda Motor Co Ltd said it recommended employees avoid travel to China, while Nissan Motor Co said it plans to evacuate its Japanese staff and their families in Wuhan via a government-chartered flight.
South Korean budget airline Air Seoul has confirmed that it will suspend all flights to China, while Taiwan’s Chinese Airlines have announced that its flights to China will be rescheduled, five flights will be cancelled and others rearranged.
The Taiwanese airline, Eva Airways, said it is possible to cancel certain flights to China.
German Lufthansa said reservations for their flights from and to China have been suspended due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Cathay Pacific, Ltd, Hong Kong, said it was reducing crew configurations every day in China, resulting in some improvements to its air schedule. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.
