ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Friday halted flights to and from China withimmediate effect, a civil aviation official said, as the death toll from avirus outbreak spreading in China mounted and the World Health Organisationcalled it a global health emergency.
“We are suspending flights to China until Feb 2,” additional secretary ofaviation Abdul Sattar Khokhar told *Reuters *by phone, adding the situationwould be reviewed after that date. He declined to comment on the reason forthe closure.
Some airlines, including British Airways, have suspended flights to Chinadue to warnings of the coronavirus outbreak. Germany, Britain and othercountries have issued warnings about travel to China.
Russia also sealed its remote far-eastern border with China as a precautionon Thursday.
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Some countries have banned entry for travellers from Wuhan, the centralChinese city where the virus first surfaced.
