The U.S. State Department on Thursday night issued an urgent travel advisory warning Americans not to travel to China after the World Health Organization declared a “public health emergency of international concern” over the worsening coronavirus epidemic. “Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice,” the advisory said. “Commercial carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China.” The warning comes as China announced a 25 percent increase in infections to nearly 10,000, with the death toll now at 213. The State Department also said Americans who were in China should consider leaving via commercial transportation and that diplomats and their families were permitted to depart.
