Over 1,200 flights were cancelled as panic spread after news of new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Beijing, on Wednesday.
Chinese media say that in the midst of a new Coronavirus outbreak, more than 60 percent of commercial flights in and out of China's busiest airport in Beijing have been cancelled as the city increases the warning level.
The Global Times of the Communist Party website said that as of 9am, which accounts for 67 percent of outgoing flights and 68 percent of incoming flights.
A number of measures have been enacted by Beijing to restrict travel in and out of the Beijing, especially among those coming from districts where new cases have been reported. Beijing has largely eradicated local transmission cases, but a total of 137 new cases with no new deaths have been added in recent days.
China has immediately suspended direct flights to and from Britain over fears of a new strain of the Coronavirus, Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
“After much consideration, China has decided to take reference from other countries and suspend flights to and from the UK,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. China will closely monitor relevant developments and dynamically adjust control measures depending on the situation,” Wang said.
The authorities have banned all residents living in neighbourhoods considered to be at medium or high risk of leaving Beijing, as well as people linked to the Xinfadi sector, in order to curb the virus from further spreading in the region.
The fourth wave of the novel coronavirus in Beijing has forced authorities to take stringent measures, as countries around the world struggle to eradicate the pandemic.
African News Agency