Coronavirus death toll rises to 26, 20 million people on lockdown in China

This appeared in The Millennial Source

The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus, together with Huanggang and Ezhou — all located in Hubei province — are currently on lockdown, as 830 people have reportedly been infected with the virus, the last count so far recorded on the morning of January 24 Hong Kong Time (HKT).

A number of 26 people have died from the coronavirus, with 24 deaths taking place in Hubei province, one in Hebei province, which is the first death outside the epicenter, and one more in Heilongjiang — the second outside the epicenter.

All transport in Hubei province has been ordered to be shut down, at a time when millions of Chinese people travel across the country for the Lunar New Year holiday. Beijing has announced that all major Chinese New Year celebrations will be canceled this year.

Medical staff infected

Medical staff treating patients in Wuhan were at the most risk of contracting the virus during the period when human-to-human transmission had not yet been confirmed. The human-to-human transmission confirmation was announced on January 20, which means that medical staff had already handled at least 200 infected patients while not…