The State
Department on Thursday night raised its China travel
advisory to "Level 4: Do Not Travel," citing the spread of the
deadly coronavirus,
days after evacuating
non-emergency U.S. personnel and their families out of the country
amid an uptick in infections.
"Those currently in China 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," officials said in the advisory.
It was upgraded from a Level
3 issued earlier this week that urged Americans to reconsider
travel to Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus that officials have since
quarantined, along with at least 17 other cities.
The U.S. has been offering additional evacuation flights
for private citizens out of China. The State Department said the flights
will leave from Wuhan International Airport “on or about Feb. 3"
and will be available on a "reimbursable basis."
Roughly 195 Americans were flown out of Wuhan -- the city
where the outbreak originated -- earlier this week and are undergoing three
days of testing at a Southern California military base before being
released.
The World Health Organization on Thursday declared
the outbreak a global health emergency after a recent jump in
infections, which totaled more than 7,800 as of Thursday. The virus has claimed
the lives of at least 170 people.
Over the past 24 hours, there were 38 new deaths
and nearly 1,740 reported cases.
Multiple countries have taken extra precautions to stem
to the flow of the pneuma-like virus, or 2019-nCoV, from crossing their
borders. Six cases have been confirmed in the United States.
Nearly 100 cases have been reported outside of China
-- including eight cases of human-to-human transmission in four countries:
Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the U.S.
Common symptoms of coronaviruses have resembled those of
the common cold. Other strains of the virus such as Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome (MERS) could cause pneumonia and possible death.
The Chinese government has begun construction
of hospitals to treat and evaluate patients. Villagers in the
suburbs of Beijing have taken measures of their own by sealing off their towns
from outsiders.
Their tactics have been similar to ones used during
the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, in 2002-03.
The disease originated in China and killed nearly 800 people. The current
number of coronavirus cases now has surpassed the number of cases of SARS
during the outbreak nearly two decades ago, but the current death toll has been
lower.
In China, and several other countries, the sale of
surgical masks have skyrocketed as the illness continues to spread beyond
China's borders.
Fox News' David Aaro contributed to
this report.
