Death toll from China virus outbreak reaches 106

China says 106 people have died from the new coronavirus and the cases of newly infected have almost doubled.

The number of total confirmed cases in China rose to 4,515 as of 27 January, up from 2,835 a day earlier.

The country has meanwhile further tightened travel restrictions to try and curb the spread of the virus.

The city of Wuhan, thought to be the epicentre of it, is already in effective lockdown as is much of surrounding Hubei province.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and there is no specific cure or vaccine.

Most of the deaths have been of elderly people or those with pre-existing respiratory problems.

The outbreak of the virus comes during the Lunar New Year celebration which usually sees millions across the country on the move to visit relatives and friends.

Many of the new year festivities have been suspended and the holiday period has been extended by three days to Sunday, in an attempt to contain the spread.

Beijing has stopped most of the bus services into neighbouring Hubei province while both the capital and Shanghai have introduced a 14-day observation periods for people arriving from Hubei.

Of the 106 deaths in China, 100 were in Hubei province while the province's number of reported infections is at 2,714.

Source: BBC

 

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