30 January 2020 - 16:28Wuhan Yangtze River Tunnel is blocked with a barrier following an outbreak of the new coronavirus and the city’s lockdown, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, ON January 25, 2020. Picture: REUTERS/CHINA DAILY
Business Day TV spoke to Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of SA, to assess the potential impact of the outbreak on the country’s tourism sector. The coronavirus, which originated in an illegal wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan, has now claimed 170 lives and infected 7,711 people in China, latest official data showed.
Australia, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand and Indonesia are quarantining evacuees for at least two weeks, though the US and Japan plan shorter, voluntary isolation. In the corporate world, Alphabet’s Google and Sweden’s Ikea are the latest big names to close Chinese operations. Samsung Electronics said it has extended holiday closure for some Chinese production facilities.