An outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has spread to more cities, Chinese authorities said on Monday, as the number of patients tripled and a third person died, stoking concerns about the containment of the virus.
The Daxing health commission in the capital Beijing said it had confirmed two cases of coronavirus, while one case has been confirmed in Shenzhen. They mark the first cases in China beyond the central city of Wuhan where the virus first emerged.
Little remains known about the virus, including its source, how easily it can spread, or its severity, though some experts say it is less deadly than the earlier Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed nearly 800 people after an outbreak in southern China in 2002-2003.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese tourists will be travelling domestically and abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday period that starts later this week.
