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Closures and cancellations as coronavirus spreads

28 January 2020
12277
2020-01-28 11:17

The ability of the new coronavirus to spread is strengthening and infections could continue to rise, China's National Health Commission said on Sunday, with nearly 2,000 people in China infected and 56 killed by the disease. The outbreak has forced tourist attractions, as well as train and bus stations to close in China and Hong Kong. The strike have severely disrupted the Lunar New Year holiday which is traditionally celebrated by hundreds of millions of Chinese at home and abroad.

Airports have stepped up screening of passengers from China as health authorities around the world race to prevent a pandemic. The virus, believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai. It has created alarm because much about it is still unknown, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. It can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases.

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