China has accused the US of causing panic because of the rapid spread of coronavirus with travel restrictions and evacuations. This comes amid a collapse of Chinese exchanges in the first business day after the Lunar New Year.

The death toll from a new strain of the virus in China, which appeared in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, passed 420 with cases exceeding 20,000, the National Health Commission said.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global emergency, and since then it has spread to 23 other countries and regions. The first death outside China was confirmed on Sunday – a 44-year-old Chinese man traveling from Wuhan to the Philippines.

Airlines around the world have stopped flights, but Pakistan, a close ally of China, announced on Monday that it is resuming air travel after a three-day halt.

Wuhan and several other cities remain virtually blocked with severe travel restrictions, and China is in increasing international isolation.

The Asian side has accused the US of spreading fear by withdrawing its citizens and restricting travel instead of offering significant assistance. Relations between the two countries had just begun to recover after a long trade war. Washington is “constantly fabricating and spreading panic”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, adding that the WHO recommended that trade and travel restrictions not be imposed.

“It is developed countries such as the United States with strong epidemic prevention capacity that have led to excessive restrictions being imposed against WHO recommendations”, added Hua Chunying. In her view, the parties should make reasonable, calm and science-based judgments.

There is no official comment from the US at this time.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said controlling the virus was China’s most important task. It has stated that epidemic prevention and control are directly related to people’s life and health, to all economic and social stability, and to China’s opening.

The 1,000-bed hospital, built-in eight days to treat people with the coronavirus in Wuhan, was scheduled to receive its first patients on Monday. More than 7,500 workers participated in the construction, which began on January 25.

A second 1,600-bed Wuhan hospital should be ready by February 5th.

As countries try to block the travel ban virus, they also seek to evacuate blocked citizens in a Chinese city.

The US, which took out its citizens last week, is planning “several more flights” and Russia should begin evacuating its citizens from Wuhan on Monday.

Hong Kong-based China, which has been shaken by anti-Chinese protests for several months, has announced that it is closing four more border points with mainland China, leaving only three open.

Australia has evacuated 243 people from Wuhan and will quarantine them on a remote island. On Saturday, the country followed the example of the United States and banned the entry of all foreign nationals coming from mainland China.