China will close its borders to foreigners starting on Saturday, March 28, in a dramatic step to try to stop the coronavirus coming in from abroad.

The move is the latest in a string of tough steps by the Chinese government to combat the virus, which first appeared in the city of Wuhan late last year and has spread widely since.

China’s civil aviation authority on Thursday slashed incoming and outgoing flights to a maximum of one per airline per foreign country each week. It also limited flights to passenger load factors of 75% or lower.

The government of Shanghai ordered most passengers entering the country to undergo a 14-day quarantine as of 6 p.m. Thursday. The capital, Beijing, had already adopted a similar measure. Previously, Shanghai had not been quarantining people without symptoms arriving from locations deemed to be low risk.

source npr.org