Air Canada is cancelling all flights to and from China until April 10th amid rising concerns about the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the region.
The airline initially halted flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai on January 30th in light of a Government of Canada travel advisory warning Canadians to avoid all travel to parts of China.
The suspension was initially supposed to remain in place until February 29th but has been extended to April 10th.
“Air Canada will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely in consultation with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada and Global Affairs and will adjust its schedule as appropriate,” reads a statement from the company.
Direct flights to China from Canada normally operate from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Thus far, seven cases of novel coronavirus or COVID-19 have been confirmed in B.C. and five recorded in Ontario.
As of the time of publication, there have been 81,296 recorded cases of COVID-19 worldwide, 2,770 deaths, and 30,359 people have recovered from the disease.
