Australia to shut border to foreign nationals arriving from China to fight spread of coronavirus

The country also discouraged Australians from visiting China at all, raising the travel alert to the maximum

The move comes a day after Singapore and the US restricted its borders to people who have recently travelled through mainland China

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Qantas aircraft seen on the tarmac at Melbourne International Airport. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:40pm, 1 Feb 2020Updated: 10:31pm, 1 Feb 2020

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia will deny entry to all foreign nationals travelling from mainland China from Saturday due to the increasing threat from the coronavirus outbreak.

Morrison also announced that Australia was raising its travel guidance for China to the highest level, advising people against visiting the country at all.

“We’re in fact operating with an abundance of caution in these circumstances,” Morrison told reporters in Sydney. “So Australians can go about their daily lives with confidence.”

The new incoming travel ban includes anybody who has been in China from February 1, whether they have travelled directly from the country or through another port. It extends an existing ban on travel from the province of Hubei, the centre of the pandemic, to the entire country.

Australian citizens and permanent residents returning home are exempt from the ban but are required to isolate themselves for 14 days after their arrival.

Australian authorities have identified 10 coronavirus cases in Australia, but no deaths.

The move came as Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand said on Saturday they were suspending direct flights from their countries to mainland China.