'Do not travel': The US issued its most extreme warning against going to China as the coronavirus continues to spread

• The US State Department issued its highest level travel warning on Thursday, advising against all travel to China amid the coronavirus outbreak.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak a public health emergency earlier on Thursday.
• Several countries have warned against all nonessential travel to China and Hubei province as the virus continues to spread around the world.
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The US issued its highest level warning on Thursday advising against all travel to China as the coronavirus continues to spread.

"Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China," the State Department advisory reads, citing the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak a public health emergency.

"Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice. Commercial carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China," the statement continued.

The State Department raised the travel advisory to a level four after announcing a level three travel ban, telling US citizens to avoid nonessential travel "due to serious risks to safety and security."

The announcement follows Chinese authorities reporting over 200 deaths in the country, with over 9,700 confirmed cases of the disease worldwide.

Several other countries have advised against nonessential travel to China and the Hubei province as the virus continues to spread globally.

• Read more:
• How to protect yourself while traveling
• The Wuhan coronavirus patient in Washington state is being isolated in a tiny room and treated by a robot as doctors try to prevent an outbreak
• Residents left in quarantined Wuhan are desperately stockpiling food and fuel, leaving empty shelves and prices skyrocketing
• Here are the symptoms of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus and when you should be worried

SEE ALSO: Wuhan is running low on food, hospitals are overflowing, and foreigners are being evacuated as panic sets in after a week under coronavirus lockdown

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