Turkish Airlines Suspends Flights to China Until February 9

Click to read the article in Turkish

Turkish Airlines (THY) Press Counsellor Yahya Üstün has announced that the company has suspended its flights to the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xian in China until February 9, 2020.

"We are suspending our flights to the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xian until February 9 to evaluate the situation brought about by the coronavirus and the latest developments with national international authorities", Üsün has indicated in his statement.

A new type of coronavirus

The new strain of coronavirus was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China on December 12, 2019. Releasing a statement on December 31, the Health Commission of Wuhan Municipality announced that 27 other people having links with the Huanan Seafood Market were also diagnosed with the virus.

The first findings of the scientific research conducted on the coronavirus showed that its genetic sequence emerged from bat and snake species unique to China. Accordingly, the sale of wild animals has been forbidden in the country until the outbreak ends.

As the virus has spread to other cities and provinces in a short time, public transportation has been suspended in 17 cities in the Hubei province, especially in the city of Wuhan where the virus was first diagnosed.

The virus is spreading more and more rapidly and the number of cases in China has now exceeded that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In 2002-2003, 5 thousand 327 people contracted SARS virus in the country. The world-wide number of SARS virus cases was 8 thousand. The number of coronavirus cases is expected to exceed it as well.

It has spread to several countries

The countries where coronavirus has been diagnosed and the number of cases by countries are as follows: Thailand (14), Japan (11), Singapore (10), Malesia (7), Australia (7), France (5), the US (5), United Arab Emirates (4), South Korea (4), Germany (4), Canada (3), Italy (2), Vietnam (2), Nepal (1), Cambodia (1), Sri Lanka (1), Finland (1)

(TP/SD)