The government in China said international tour groups would be suspended and inter-province shuttle buses halted from Sunday in an effort to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Speaking at a Communist Party leadership meeting, President Xi Jinping said his country was "faced with the grave situation of an accelerating spread of the new coronavirus," but that the country would "definitely be able to win the battle," according to state media.
"Life is of paramount importance," Xi said.
Read more: Chinese New Year: Entering the Year of the Rat amid the coronavirus crisis
As of Sunday, some 1,975 people are believed to have been infected, with at least 56 deaths reported. Chinese state news reported some 324 people to be in critical condition.
The outbreak is believed to have originated in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan and has spread to several other countries, including the US, France, Japan and Australia. Malaysia and Canada confirmed their first cases of the virus on Saturday.
On Saturday, Hong Kong's most senior official, Carrie Lam, declared a virus emergency in the city, shutting down transport links, schools and universities.
Hong Kong has confirmed five people were infected, but the number of suspected cases is much higher
Five cases of the virus have been reported in Hong Kong, while a further 122 people are suspected of having the virus. The shutdown comes as many Hong Kongers celebrate the Lunar New Year amid ongoing tensions after seven months of anti-government protests.
Flights and high-speed rail trips between Hong Kong and Wuhan have been halted, while schools and universities will remain shut until February 17.
Lam said it would be impractical to shut down all contact with mainland China but scrapped all upcoming official visits.
"I hereby urge all citizens stay united to fight against the epidemic to protect all Hong Kong people's health and safety," she said.
Wuhan gets new hospitals
In Wuhan, where most of the nearly 2,000 infection cases and deaths have been reported, car use has been banned and most outgoing transport restricted as China aims to quarantine the virus.
Chinese officials on Saturday announced that Wuhan was also building a second 1,000-bed makeshift hospital to deal with the crisis, to be completed February 3. It will be modeled on a SARS hospital built within six days in Beijing in 2003 during the deadly SARS outbreak.
A lockdown is in place in 18 cities, affecting millions of people.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the new coronavirus
US to evacuate citizens
The US also announced on Saturday it had chartered a plane to carry US citizens from Wuhan back to the US. The flight will carry around 230 people, including diplomats, their families, and private citizens.
The State Department said a flight will evacuate American citizens on January 28 from Wuhan to San Francisco, warning that there would be "limited capacity" for private citizens.
"This capacity is extremely limited and if there is insufficient ability to transport everyone who expresses interest, priority will be given to individuals at greater risk from coronavirus," the department said on Sunday.
France is also planning to evacuate French nationals from Wuhan, authorities said on Saturday.
Virus spreads around the world
The news comes a day after the coronavirus reached Europe, with France reporting its first cases on Friday.
Nepal and Australia also confirmed their first cases of the virus on Friday, joining the US, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Singapore — as well as the Chinese semi-autonomous city of Macau.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization declined to designate the virus as a global health emergency.
Read more: What constitutes an international public health emergency?
It is still unclear how lethal the new coronavirus is, or even whether it is as dangerous as the ordinary flu, which kills tens of thousands of people every year. Researchers around the world, including in Germany, are working to find answers.
The virus was first reported in Wuhan in December.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Pneumonia-like virus hits Wuhan
On December 31, 2019, China notifies the World Health Organization of a string of respiratory infections in the city of Wuhan, home to some 11 million people. The root virus is unknown and disease experts around the world begin working to identify it. The strain is traced to a seafood market in the city, which is quickly shut down. Some 40 people are initially reported to be infected.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
New strain of coronavirus identified
Researchers initially rule out the SARS virus, the deadly respiratory illness that originated in China in 2002, killing nearly 800 people worldwide. On January 7, Chinese scientists announce they've identified a new virus. Like SARS and the common cold, it is in the coronavirus family. It is temporarily named 2019-nCoV. Symptoms include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
First death in China
On January 11, China announces the first death from the coronavirus — a 61-year-old man, who had shopped at the Wuhan market, dies from complications with pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Virus reaches neighboring countries
In the following days, countries such as Thailand and Japan begin to report cases of infections in people who had visited the same Wuhan market. In China, a second fatality is confirmed in the city. By January 20, three people have died in China and more than 200 are infected.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Transmission unclear
Through mid-January, scientists scramble to find out how the illness is being spread among people. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted from animals to people. Some coronaviruses can be transmitted by coughing and sneezing. Airports around the world begin screening passengers arriving from China. On January 20, officials confirm the virus can be passed directly between humans.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Millions under lockdown
China places Wuhan on quarantine on January 23 in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. Transportation is suspended and workers attempt to quickly build a new hospital to treat infected patients, which total over 830 by January 24, as the death toll climbs to 26. Officials eventually extend the lockdown to 13 other cities, affecting at least 36 million people.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
A global health emergency?
More and more cases are confirmed outside of China, including in South Korea, the US, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. As the number of infections rises, the World Health Organization on January 23 determines that it's "too early" to declare a global public health emergency.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Coronavirus reaches Europe
On January 24, French authorities confirm three cases of the new coronavirus within its borders, marking the disease's first appearance in Europe. Hours later, Australia confirms four people have been infected with the respiratory virus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Lunar New Year holiday extended
The Chinese Lunar New Year begins with subdued festivities on January 25. Officials cancel many major events in a bid to contain the outbreak, as millions of Chinese travel and take part in public celebrations. By late January, 17 Chinese cities, home to more than 50 million people, are in lockdown. Lunar New Year holidays are extended by three days to limit population flows.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Borders with Mongolia, Hong Kong, eastern Russia close
Cambodia confirms its first case, while Mongolia shuts its border with China for cars and Russia closes its borders in three regions in the Far East. The cost to global tourism is put in the billions and oil prices also plummet. The death toll rises to 41, with over 1,300 infected worldwide — mostly in China. Scientists hope to have the first coronavirus vaccines ready within three months.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Germany braces for virus
On January 27, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says Germany is considering evacuating German nationals from Wuhan. There are no reported cases in Germany yet but officials are preparing to fight the virus. German researchers in Marburg are part of international efforts to work on a possible vaccine for the coronavirus. The death toll in China reaches 81, with 2,700 affected worldwide.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
First cases confirmed in Germany
On January 27, Germany announces its first known case of the virus — a 33-year-old in Bavaria who contracted it during a workplace training with a visiting Chinese colleague. He is put under quarantine and observation at a Munich hospital. The following day, three of his colleagues are confirmed infected. The death toll in China reaches 132, with around 6,000 infected worldwide.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
International evacuations begin
On January 28, Japan and the US are the first countries to evacuate some of their citizens from Wuhan. Four of the Japanese passengers are taken to the hospital with fevers on arrival. Australia and New Zealand say they will also send planes to bring their citizens home. Global cases mount to nearly 6,000 infections, more than the 2002-03 SARS outbreak that killed roughly 800 people.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
WHO declares global health emergency
On January 30, the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) declares coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern in a bid to protect countries with "weaker health systems." However, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus does not recommend trade and travel restrictions, saying these would be "an unnecessary disruption."
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Wuhan evacuees arrive in Germany
On February 1, 124 people including 102 Germans arrive at Frankfurt airport after being evacuated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, on a German Air Force flight. The evacuees are taken to military barracks in Germersheim where they are set to be quarantined for 14 days. At least two of the evacuees are said to be infected with the new virus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
First death outside China
The first death linked to the novel coronavirus outside of China is reported in the Philippines on February 2. A 44-year-old Chinese man had traveled from Wuhan to Manila before falling ill and being taken to hospital, where he later died of pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
New coronavirus hospital in just 10 days
The Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital in Wuhan, built in just over a week, opens on February 3. The hospital aims to use a mix of both Western and traditional Chinese medicine to treat those infected with the coronavirus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Bad ending to a cruise
Also on February 3, the cruise ship Diamond Princess is quarantined off Yokohama in Japan after cases of the new coronavirus were found on board. As of February 17, the number of people infected has grown to more than 450, the largest cluster of cases outside of China. Several of the 3,700 passengers and crew onboard the ship are being or have been flown back to their home countries.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
New methodology, new statistic
On February 13, China's Hubei province registers the highest-ever one-day total of infections. This comes, however, after authorities announced that they had begun including people diagnosed using new clinical methods — CT scans for lung infections instead of the previous nucleic acid tests — in official statistics.
Author: Cristina Burack, Elliot Douglas, Dave Raish, Kate Martyr, Timothy Jones
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shs,cmb,dj,ed/rc (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)
