The Government has decided, until further notice, to suspend all scheduled and chartered flights from China to Sabah.

Datuk Christina Liew, Deputy Chief Minister, said the decision was taken at a State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to protect public health.

She emphasized that it is only a temporary move. After the situation is normal, business operations are expected to resume.

"These suspensions will affect the State tourism industry, but we want to avoid the risk of exposing our people to any possible carrier for Novel Coronavirus infections and to raise serious concerns with the government about Sabahans ' safety and welfare.

"This travel restriction is an extremely difficult decision, which our tourism players may not accept well.

Liew noted that in Wuhan, Xi'an, Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou the Chinese Government had already prohibited its citizens to travel abroad.

In the meantime, the Minister assured the public of the close monitoring of the situation by the state government.