SINGAPORE — Singapore said on Friday it was banning entry to all Chinese visitors and foreigners with a recent history of travel to China in some of the most far-reaching moves worldwide to deter the fast-spreading coronavirus. The ban, effective from Saturday, will also apply to transiting passengers but will exempt residents and long-term pass holders such as those on work permits, student visas or long-term visit passes, the health ministry said. The move to suspend visas to mainland Chinese passport holders effectively shuts out the island’s largest group of visitors and will also bar other travelers who have been to China in the last 14 days. It comes as the toll from the virus reached 213 on Friday, a day after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan, John Geddie and Anshuman Daga; editing by John Stonestreet and Nick Macfie)

Source: National Post January 31, 2020 11:15 UTC