BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2020) Tianjin, a Chinese city under the direct jurisdiction of the central government, will shut down all intercity passenger buses next week as part of efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the city authorities announced on Sunday.
Tianjin, a northeastern city with 15 million residents, is the fourth largest in China. Earlier, Beijing announced the suspension of intercity bus services starting Sunday.
"In order to curb the spread of the new type of coronavirus through passenger transport, all intercity road passenger transport from and to Tianjin will be suspended from January 27. The measures do not apply only to the transport necessary for the prevention and control of the spread of the disease," the Tianjin government said in a statement on its Weibo account.
The ban concerns not only shuttle buses, but also rented, private and tourist buses.
Following the Tianjin government's announcement, the northwestern province of Shaanxi decided to suspend all intercity and urban passenger transport to and from the city of Xi'an, which is home to the famous Terracotta Army, China Central Television has reported.
The measure will take effect at 6:00 p.m. Sunday (10:00 GMT). Taxi services will also be suspended. One will be able to only take the taxi to the airport.
The similar measures were declared across eastern Shandong province.
The new type of coronavirus, which is currently spreading across the world, was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December. In a bid to avert the disease spread, China has suspended transport services in several cities.
The highest level of health emergency response has been declared across 30 provinces, cities under the central government's direct jurisdiction and special administrative regions of China, with a total population of over 1.3 billion.
