PIA discontinues Beijing flights owing to coronavirus fears
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KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended its Beijing flights immediately as part of precautionary measures to block possible outbreak of a novel coronavirus
The decision has been taken as the virus has so far killed over 2,300 people and infected more than 75,500 others in mainland China,
The spokesperson of the airlines said, the national flag carrier’s flights, PK-852 (Islamabad to Beijing to Tokyo) and PK-853 ( Beijing to Islamabad) will remain suspended until March 15.
He further said PIA administration would decide whether to extend the cancellation of the flights in a few days.
Earlier today, China reported a sharp fall in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections continued to rise in other countries, Reuters adds.
Chinese authorities said the mainland had 397 new confirmed cases on Friday, down from 889 a day earlier. The numbers surged elsewhere, though, with outbreaks worsening in South Korea, Iran, Italy and Lebanon.
In South Korea, authorities said on Saturday the number of new infections had doubled to 433, and suggested the tally could rise significantly as more than 1,000 people who attended a church at the center of the outbreak reported flu-like symptoms.
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