Trump Declines to Suspend China-US Flights Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Situation Being 'Monitored'

The White House on Tuesday opted not to suspend flights from China to the United States as it discussed ways to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The Trump administration told U.S. airlines after a meeting that it was not taking the step of canceling flights, airline and government officials told Reuters.

The administration is holding daily meetings on the coronavirus and has considered a wide range of potential options. Two U.S. officials said the administration had not taken any options off the table, including a temporary ban on flights, if public health data supported the move.

Britain and China will work on a possible evacuation of UK citizens from Hubei province in the next few days.

Our Asia correspondent @Chesh reports that across China, villagers are sealing themselves off in an attempt to prevent coronavirus spreading.https://t.co/V2S6ClpSsz pic.twitter.com/tntKCUM4O5

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 28, 2020

Cannot be more safe #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/EX4s2dDByx

— Geoff (@geofflo610) January 28, 2020

As of Wednesday, there were 5,974 confirmed cases of the virus in mainland China, including 132 deaths, according to China's National Health Commission (NHC). The number of cases grew by almost 1,500 from Tuesday, a more than 30% increase. The figures do not include Hong Kong and Macau, both of which have reported a small number of cases.

There were 5,327 confirmed cases of SARS in mainland China during the 2003 outbreak, with 349 deaths. Experts have previously estimated the Wuhan virus figures could still be vastly under-reported, making the novel coronavirus far more contagious, but also less deadly, than SARS.