More than 60% of commercial flights in and out of Beijing have been canceled as the Chinese capital raised its alert level Wednesday against a new coronavirus outbreak and other nations confront rising numbers of illnesses and deaths, the Associated Press reports.
The virus prevention and control situation in Beijing was described as “extremely grave” at a meeting of Beijing’s Communist Party Standing Committee led by the city’s top official, Party Secretary Cai Qi.
The website of the Communist Party’s Global Times said 1,255 flights to and from the capital’s two major airports were scrapped by Wednesday morning. Beijing Capital Airport is traditionally the world’s second busiest in passenger capacity.
That accounts for 67% of outgoing flights and 68% of incoming flights, the newspaper said.
The cancellations are among a number of limits on travel in and out of the city, especially in hot spot areas. Beijing had essentially eradicated local transmissions until recent days, with 137 new cases since late last week.
On Wednesday, the city of 20 million people raised its threat level from 3 to 2, leading to the cancellation of classes, suspended reopenings and stronger requirements for social distancing. China had relaxed many of its coronavirus controls after the ruling Communist Party declared victory over the virus in March.
