At the time of writing, Myanmar has had no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus that has infected roughly 25,000 people in China, but the government is taking no chances. It has suspended flights from certain parts of China, blocking or quarantining travelers with flu-like symptoms and, as of last Saturday, suspending a visa-on-arrival scheme for Chinese tourists.

The move comes after the World Health Organization declared the epidemic a global health emergency. The virus, which seems to have originated last month in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province, has since moved beyond China’s borders, with confirmed cases in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and other Asian nations as well as the United States and Europe. Tourism throughout the continent has plummeted as people avoid travel to Asia and international airlines suspend flights from China.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs U Aung Kyaw Zan told The Irrawaddy: “For the time being, it is difficult to set a timeframe [for the suspension]. We’ll take action based on the magnitude of the virus transmission, WHO statements and responses from other countries.”

Myanmar’s tour operators have reported drops in business as high as 20 percent, and the suspension of on-arrival visas will only make things worse for the industry. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (MHT) introduced on-arrival visas and visa-free entry to a handful of Asian nations in 2018, and has since expanded the number of eligible countries. As a result, the MHT claimed 2.14 million foreign visitors entered the country in the first half of 2019, versus 1.72 million during the same period in 2018.