China shuts down another city in Hubei, infections hit 631

A second city in Hubei province – Huanggang – is being shut down to help control the spread of the deadly coronavirus now raging across China, authorities said.

The number of Chinese infected with the Wuhan coronavirus has risen to 631 nationwide, the People's Daily reported. Jilin in the northeast, Xinjiang, Ningxia in the north west confirmed their first cases. There are eigth more people infected  in Beijing, seven more in Shanghai, and eight more in Anhui. There are also five more in Hunan,  17 more in Zhejiang, and six  more in Guangdong.

CGN reported a tally of at least 620 in China.

The train station in Huanggang, which has a population of 7.5 million and is 70 kilometres from Wuhan, will be suspended until further notice from midnight. All vehicles will be checked, and bars and cinemas will be closed, said city authorities.
The railway station in a third nearby city, Ezhou, which has a population of over one million, will also close from tonight, though no other measures were announced.
The authorities had shut down all transport links to Wuhan city where the newly identified virus originated. A fish market which used to sell a variety of live animals was identified as the epicentre of the outbreak.
The outbreak comes just ahead of the Lunar New Year when millions of people will be travelling across the mainland.-AFP, RTHK/The Standard