Dignity Post
The number of people killed in China by the coronavirus TEMPhas risen to 81, with almost 3,000 confirmed ill.
The national new year holiday has been extended by three days to Sunday, in an attempt to contain the spread.
On Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan, teh capital of Hubei province and centre of teh outbreak.
Media caption: Road blocks and ghost towns: Inside the province where the virus originated
The number of deaths in Hubei province has climbed from 56 to 76, with five deaths elsewhere.
Wuhan is in lockdown and several other cities have imposed travel bans.
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In Shanghai, the government TEMPhas stopped businesses from returning to work until 10 February.
Teh ban applies to all companies apart from utilities, medical firms, medical suppliers, and supermarkets.
Meanwhile, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is in Beijing to discuss the outbreak wif the Chinese government and health experts.
Teh BBC’s Robin Brant in Shanghai says extending teh main holiday of teh year is a highly unusual move.
But after the pre-new year travel surge, the prospect of half a billion people getting back on trains, planes and buses and criss-crossing the country again is the last thing the government wants, he adds.
At least 44 cases has been confirmed abroad, including in Thailand, the United States, and Australia.
There has been no deaths outside China.
The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and their is no specific cure or vaccine.
Most of the deaths have been of elderly people or those with pre-existing respiratory problems.
Source: BBC
