BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 3, 2020– In 2003, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) claimed 349 lives in China.

Last Friday, the Belize Ministry of Health issued a travel advisory for Chinese-Belizeans.

“If you are in Belize, don’t travel to China, and if you are in China, don’t travel to Belize. If you travel to Belize, you will most likely be quarantined,” said a Ministry of Health press release.

So far, no cases of coronavirus have been discovered in Belize.

Many countries have issued travel advisories for those planning trips to China, and globally, airlines are cancelling flights to China.

Globally, the coronavirus, which was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December, has claimed the lives of 426 persons. In the epicenter of the coronavirus in Wuhan, the death toll has climbed to 414. Over the past weekend, a man died in the Philippines, becoming the first person to have died from the virus outside China.

There were 64 deaths today in Hubei province, China. Authorities there reported an additional 2,345 cases of the virus. There are 10,990 persons hospitalized in Hubei, with 576 of them in critical condition. The total number of cases in Hubei stands at 13,522.

Globally, there have been more than 19,000 coronavirus cases reported.

In the United States, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is working to provide diagnostic testing for coronavirus across the U.S.

Feature photo:  A father and son wear face masks to prevent infection in Hong Kong, China. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images