Kazakhstan says it is suspending all forms of passenger travel to and from neighboring China, as an outbreak of a new coronavirus continued to widen.
Cross-border bus journeys have already been halted, while passenger train movement would stop on February 1 and flights would be suspended two days later, the government said in a statement on January 29.
It said the Central Asian nation has also suspended the issuance of visas to Chinese citizens.
Kazakhstan has registered no cases of the virus but has isolated 35 people with respiratory-infection symptoms upon arrival from China and is carrying out additional tests, according to the Health Ministry.
The coronavirus has caused 132 deaths, spreading across China and to at least 16 other countries.
Kazakhstan Shutting Down Transport Links With China Over Coronavirus Fears
A Kazakh worker uses a thermal scanner to detect travelers who may have symptoms possibly connected with coronavirus at Almaty International Airport.