China yesterday defended a ban on non-Chinese arrivals from a growing list of countries to resist the coronavirus.

Covid-19 emerged in China last year, but authorities have brought its spread under control with tight travel restrictions and health measures.

In March, as the virus ripped across the world, China shut its borders to all foreign nationals.

It gradually eased restrictions to allow those stranded overseas to return with special permission from embassies, negative Covid-19 tests and a two-week quarantine on arrival.

But as the virus once more billows out across Europe, the Chinese embassy in London said Beijing has "decided to temporarily suspend entry" from Britain by non-Chinese nationals.

Embassies in Belgium, the Philippines, India, Ukraine and Bangladesh put out similar notices.

The Chinese foreign ministry said yesterday it was a "reasonable and fair" measure.

The United Kingdom - one of the hardest-hit countries with nearly 48,000 virus-linked deaths and more than one million cases - has entered a new nationwide lockdown.

Belgium has the most Covid-19 cases per capita in the world, has been in lockdown since last week, while large parts of the Philippines went back into lockdown in October.

India passed eight million cases last week, second only to the United States, while Ukraine and Bangladesh have also been sources of imported cases in China in recent months.

Beijing has recently tightened requirements for travelers from several other countries, making entry much more difficult.

They include the presentation of a health certificate from a Chinese embassy showing the results of a nucleic acid and antibody tests within 48 hours of travel.

China closes doors to Brits and other nationalities over coronavirus worries