US urges citizens to avoid all international travels amid COVID-19 outbreak

WASHINGTON - The US State Department on Thursday raised travel advisory to Level 4, which instructs its citizens to avoid all international travels amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus.

"In countries where commercial departure options remain available, US citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period," according to the department's travel advisory website.

The announcement came amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the United States. According to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University, there are currently more than 10,700 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country.