State Department tells Americans not to travel to China as coronavirus spreads


As the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread, the State Department issued a new travel advisory on Thursday night, telling U.S. citizens not to travel to China.
The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China, last month, and Chinese officials say there are 9,720 confirmed cases, with the death toll rising to 213. The State Department's Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory came hours after the World Health Organization declared the Wuhan coronavirus a global emergency.
There are six cases of Wuhan coronavirus in the United States, including the first to be passed from person to person. The State Department has told U.S. citizens in China to "consider departing using commercial means," and requested "all non-essential U.S. government personnel defer travel to China" in light of the coronavirus.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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