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Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaPeople & Culture

Taiwan halts visas for Hong Kong and Macau citizens as coronavirus deaths reach 565 globally

  • Self-governed island wary of fresh infections in the two cities, while there are 3,694 confirmed new cases in mainland China, with 73 new deaths
  • Experimental drug remdesivir moves closer to possible approval for use as clinical trial begins

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Medical staff at work in a makeshift hospital that was converted from an exhibition centre, in Wuhan, central China. Photo: Xinhua
Robert Delaney,Lawrence Chung,Wendy Wu,Gigi ChoyandLinda Lew
Daily deaths caused by the new coronavirus have reached another record level in China, with 73 fatalities confirmed in figures released by health authorities on Thursday morning, taking the country’s death toll to 563.
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The number of new infections in mainland China and the total within its central province of Hubei – the outbreak’s epicentre – both fell on Wednesday compared with the day before. There were 3,694 additional cases in the country and 2,987 in Hubei, national and provincial health authorities announced on Thursday morning.

The last time the rise in new infection figures slowed was January 28, after the daily increase in confirmed cases again rose on Tuesday – 3,887 in China, of which 3,156 were in Hubei. There have been 565 confirmed deaths worldwide from the coronavirus since it first emerged at the end of December, and it has sickened more than 28,000.

 

Permits to visit Taiwan suspended for Hong Kong, Macau

Taiwan said on Thursday that it would suspend its online and landing visa services indefinitely for Hong Kong and Macau citizens, while non-citizens of Hong Kong and Macau with a history of travel to mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau are also to be barred from visiting.

“Beginning [midnight Thursday], we will suspend online and landing visa application services” until further notice, announced Chiu Chui-cheng, vice-chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which sets the island’s policies towards mainland China.

Those with an urgent need to visit Taiwan need to apply to the self-governed island’s representative offices in Hong Kong or Macau with proof of not having travelled to mainland China in the previous 14 days, Chiu said.

The latest restriction of entry for people from those cities since the outbreak spread was necessary to protect Taiwanese people, Chiu said. Taiwan has raised its alert level for travel to Hong Kong and Macau to Level 2, indicating a potential risk; the highest alert is Level 3, advising against visiting unless strictly necessary.

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