State Department China Travel Advisory

The State Department announced a highest-level warning on Thursday not to travel to China due to the recent coronavirus outbreak. Just three days ago the State Department had raised its China travel warning to level 3, and the highest level 4 warning was reserved for the Hubei province where Wuhan is located. The virus is spreading quickly in China and around the world, and the World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.

Now the State Department website warns to “not travel to China due to the novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China. On January 30, the World Health Organization determined the rapidly spreading outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice. Commercial carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China.”

For those currently in China the State Department suggests they “should consider departing using commercial means. The Department of State has requested that all non-essential U.S. government personnel defer travel to China in light of the novel coronavirus.”

In an effort to contain the novel coronavirus, the Chinese authorities have suspended air, road, and rail travel in the area around Wuhan and placed restrictions on travel and other activities throughout the country. On January 23, 2020, the Department of State ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members from Wuhan. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Hubei province. On January 29, 2020, the Department of State allowed for the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and family members of U.S. government employees from China.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday that the husband of an Illinois woman with Wuhan coronavirus is now infected with the illness — the first confirmed case of person-to-person transmission in the United States. You can see a live map of how the virus is spreading across the world here.