Coronavirus Rocks China : Death Toll Rises To 25, Dampens Celebrations Of Lunar New Year

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China’s alarmingly new coronavirus afflictions has taken its toll . According media reports the death toll has climbed to 25 with confirmed cases rising sharply to 830, the Chinese health authorities said .

PTI has reported that the pneumonia situation had resulted in 25 deaths, including 24 in central China’s Hubei province and one in north China’s Hebei, the National Health Commission said.

By Thursday, 830 confirmed cases of pneumonia, caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), had been reported in 29 provincial-level regions in the country, it said.

A total of 1,072 suspected cases have been reported in 20 provincial-level regions, according to the National Health Commission.

As the virus spread in the country and the world, China on Thursday locked down five cities, including Wuhan, suspending all public transport in an unprecedented move to contain the coronavirus, dampening the celebrations of the Lunar New Year.

On Thursday evening, Chinese officials announced suspension of public transport in five cities – Huanggang, Ezhou, Zhijiang, Qianjiang and Wuhan in Hubei province, official media reported.

Wuhan, the city of 11 million people where the virus is believed to have first emerged, has no trains or planes in or out.

According to the health commission in northern Hebei province, which borders Beijing, an 80-year-old man diagnosed with the new virus died on January 22.

The victims’ average age was 73, with the oldest 89 and the youngest 48. So far, 631 cases have been confirmed in 25 provincial-level regions in the country.