Coronavirus: Anxious Asian countries want China flight ban, says new poll

Of those surveyed, 84 per cent want a blanket ban on all air travel from the mainland until the Covid-19 epidemic is under control

Residents of Hong Kong and Japan are among those who believe the situation will worsen in the next month

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Malaysians are most concerned about the outbreak’s impact on the international economy, while the Japanese are the most optimistic Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:30pm, 19 Feb 2020Updated: 2:38am, 20 Feb 2020

Anxiety levels in Asian countries over the new coronavirus are high, a new survey shows, although they do not necessarily correlate with the number of cases reported locally. But regardless of their level of concern, the vast majority of respondents want a blanket ban on flights from mainland China.

The Covid-19 disease, caused by a new coronavirus that was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected more than 75,000 people around the world, killing more than 2,000.

“The desire for a travel ban from China is very consistent across the nine countries surveyed. More than eight in 10 of those surveyed believe there should be a total ban on all flights … until the virus is under control on the mainland,” said David Black, chief executive of Singapore-based Blackbox Research, which along with technology company Toluna conducted what is believed to be the largest online poll on the coronavirus so far.

A total of 4,111 people were asked between February 14 -17 about the outbreak and their governments’ responses, with the findings showing that Japan and Hong Kong were among the most pessimistic as to how the crisis will evolve.

About 85 per cent and 72 per cent of those interviewed, respectively, said they believed the number of local cases would go up in the next month.

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