From global aviation and automaker companies to Starbucks and Apple, the alarmed industrial world on Wednesday scrambled to stop travel to China while closing certain operations as the number of confirmed Novel Coronavirus cases jumped to 5,974 — surpassing the 5,327 cases in mainland China during the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003.
The death toll climbed to 132 — still lower than 348 people who died owing to SARS in China but the greater threat loom as nonone has answers to how severe the 2019-nCoV outbreak is.
Warning of an upcoming financial hit from the China virus outbreak, Starbucks closed nearly 2,000 restaurants out of 4,292 stores it operates in the country.
British Airways (BA) suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China because of the coronavirus outbreak, reports the BBC. BA operates daily routes to Beijing and Shanghai from London’s Heathrow airport.
Several other airlines like United Airlines, Air Canada and Cathay Pacific Airways have already cancelled some flights to China.
According to The New York Times, automakers Ford and Toyota said they would idle some of their vast Chinese assembly plants.
Ford and Renault would only resume production at their China factories after extended breaks for the Chinese New Year holiday.
Facebook and other high-profile US firms have also told their employees not to travel to China.
Apple which has a strong China base in both manufacturing and retail segments, said that the company has closed one of its retail stores and has restricted employees’ business travel to the country.
While McDonald’s has suspended business in five cities in the affected Hubei province while the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut has closed outlets in Wuhan. Disney has closed its Shanghai and Hong Kong resorts, according to multiple media reports.