China coronavirus: Stricter measures start Lunar New Year – BBC News, BBC News
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a special government meeting on the Lunar New Year public holiday to warn that the spread of a deadly new virus is “accelerating”.
The country is facing a “grave situation” Mr Xi told senior officials, according to state television.
The coronavirus has killed at least 90 People and infected almost 1, Since its discovery in the city of Wuhan.
Travel restrictions have already hit several affected cities.
And from Sunday, private vehicles will be banned from the central districts of Wuhan, the source of the outbreak.
A second emergency hospital is to be built there within weeks to handle 1, 300 new patients, and will be finished in half a month, state newspaper the People’s Daily said. It is the second such rapid construction project: work on another 1, – bed hospital has already begun.
Specialist military medial teams have also arrived in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, by plane.
The urgency reiter concern both within China and elsewhere about the spread of the virus which first appeared in December.
Lunar New Year celebrations for the year of the rat, which began on Saturday, have been cancelled in many Chinese cities.
Across mainland China, travellers are having their temperatures checked for signs of fever, and train stations have been shut in several cities.
In Hong Kong, the highest level of emergency has been declared and school holidays extended.
Several other nations are each dealing with a handful of cases, with patients being treated in isolation.
What is the coronavirus, and what does it do?
This virus has never been seen before, so it’s been called – nCov, for “novel coronavirus.”
A coronavirus is a family of viruses that usually affect animals, but can sometimes jump to humans – for example, in the Sars outbreak of 01575879.
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