Bali has denied entry to three Armenians after authorities found that they had traveled to China within the last 14 days, The Jakarta Post reports.

The death toll in China from the deadly coronavirus was at least 638 as of Thursday, February 7 evening. All but two of the deaths were in mainland China, with one person succumbing in the Philippines and another in Hong Kong. More than 31,000 people have been infected with the virus worldwide, the vast majority of them in China.

The head of the Law and Human Right Ministry’s Bali office told reporters on Thursday that 17 foreigners – four Brazilians, three Armenians, two Moroccans, two Chinese, a Russian, a Briton, a Ukrainian, a Ghanaian, a New Zealander and a Romanian – had been denied entry to Bali since Wednesday.

“Up to 12 a.m. [Thursday], we had denied entry to 17 foreigners that had traveled to China within the past 14 days,” the official said.

The policy, he went on to say, was based on the travel ban to and from mainland China imposed by the government since Wednesday.

Therefore, immigration at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is investigating travel details while checking passengers' passports.

“Once we find that they have traveled to China [within the 14 days], we deny them admittance,” he said, adding that the airlines were obliged to fly them back to their initial points of departure.

As a result of the ban, at least 5,000 Chinese tourists are likely to be stranded in Bali. They, however, are reportedly willing to stay longer in Bali amid coronavirus fears back home.