PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government has yet to decide on whether to ban all flights from China in response to the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the country.
“We are still studying the options of banning all flights from China, or just restricting the ban to those from Wuhan,” he told reporters after attending the Rural Development Ministry meeting with strategic partners at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today.
He was responding to reports that Sabah had suspended all flights from China into the state.
In announcing the ban, the Sabah government said the move was made “in the interest of the people’s welfare”.
A report on the Borneo Post website quoted Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew as saying that the ban was only temporary.
She acknowledged that the ban would have repercussions on the state’s tourism industry but it was more concerned about the health and welfare of the people.
Sarawak announced three days ago that it would stop recruiting workers from China in response to the outbreak.
