Presidential coronavirus task force formed for US government's response to outbreak
Health officials say the risk of infection in the U.S. remains low but it's important to keep monitoring airports; Jonathan Serrie reports from Atlanta.
United Airlines is implementing a second phase of temporary flight suspensions to China amid the coronavirus outbreak, the airline shared with Fox News Thursday.
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“As the significant decline in demand for travel to China continues, we are implementing a second phase of temporary reductions in service between our hub cities and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai,” an updated statement from the airline read.
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The newest phase will include 332 additional roundtrip cancelations beginning Feb. 9 through March 28. Previously, United announced it was suspending some flights from SFO, Newark Airport, Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles International Airport for only the first week in February.
The newest phase will include 332 additional roundtrip cancelations beginning Feb. 9 through March 28. (iStock)
The latest cut in service will reduce the major carrier’s daily departures for mainland China from 12 to four, the statement shared.
“We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed,” the airline concluded.
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United Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier to China, is also offering travel waivers to scheduled to fly to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai or Hong Kong before Feb. 29, waiving a change fee for any travel scheduled before that time, as long as travelers book new flights leaving before March 31. (Additional stipulations apply.)
United travelers with tickets to Wuhan through March 29 are also eligible for refunds — “even for nonrefundable tickets,” the airline writes.
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Meanwhile, the death toll from the coronavirus has continued to increase. As of Thursday, at least 170 had died and more than 7,700 were infected. The virus has spread to 16 countries.
The State Department has issued a Level 3 alert for China (Reconsider Travel) and further issued a Level 4 advisory (Do Not Travel) for the entire Hubei province, the capital of which is Wuhan, where the virus was first observed.