China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital

China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, image from China's CCTV video, a patient is carried on a stretcher to an ambulance by medical workers in protective suits in Wuhan, China. China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with a new virus that sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities home to millions of people during the country's most important holiday. (CCTV via AP)

China expanded its lockdown against the deadly new virus to an unprecedented 36 million people and rushed to build a prefabricated, 1,000-bed hospital for victims Friday as the outbreak cast a pall over Lunar New Year, the country's biggest, most festive holiday.

The number of confirmed cases around the world climbed sharply to more than 850, with at least 25 deaths, all of them in China.

Meanwhile, France announced two people had fallen ill with the virus—the first cases in Europe. And the U.S. reported its second case, involving a Chicago woman in her 60s who was hospitalized after returning from China. U.S. stocks fell in midday trading, especially airlines and other companies in the travel and tourism industry.

,Transportation was shut down in Wuhan, the city of 11 million at the epicenter of the outbreak, and in at least 12 other cities in central China's Hubei province, encompassing a population bigger than that of New York, London, Paris and Moscow combined.

And authorities in Beijing and other cities canceled many public celebrations and other events marking Lunar New Year, which falls on Saturday.

Hospitals in Wuhan grappled with a flood of patients and a lack of supplies. Videos circulating online showed throngs of frantic people in masks lined up for examinations, and some complained that had been turned away at hospitals that were at capacity.

China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, image from China's CCTV video, a patient is carried on a stretcher to an ambulance in Wuhan, China. China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with a new virus that sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities home to millions of people during the country's most important holiday. (CCTV via AP)

Authorities in Wuhan and elsewhere put out calls for medicine, disinfection equipment, masks, goggles, gowns and other protective gear.

Wuhan authorities said they are rapidly constructing a new hospital to deal with the crisis, to be completed Feb. 3. It will be modeled on a SARS hospital that was built in Beijing in just six days during the SARS outbreak.

The seriousness of the crisis was still an open question.

It was not clear just how lethal the virus is, or even whether it is as dangerous as ordinary flu, which kills tens of thousands of people every year in the U.S. alone. Scientists say it is also not clear if it spreads as easily as SARS, its genetic cousin, which also originated in China and killed about 800 people in 2002-03.

The rapid increase in reported deaths and illnesses does not necessarily mean the crisis is getting worse. It could instead reflect better monitoring and reporting of the newly discovered virus, whose symptoms can initially resemble those of the cold and flu, including cough, fever and shortness of breath, but can worsen to pneumonia.

China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a medical worker writes their colleague's name on a protective suit to aid in identification as they work at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Firday, Jan. 24, 2020. China announced Friday that it is swiftly building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities during the country's most important holiday. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP)

"It's still too early to draw conclusions about how severe the virus is because at the beginning of any outbreak you would focus more on the severe cases," said Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the World Health Organization in Geneva. "And then maybe we are missing some mild cases because people will just be a little bit sick and will not have it tested. And they will recover."

With authorities afraid that public gatherings will hasten the spread of the virus, temples locked their doors, Beijing's Forbidden City, Shanghai Disneyland and other major tourist destinations closed, and people canceled restaurant reservations ahead of Lunar New Year, normally a time of family reunions, sightseeing trips, fireworks displays and other festivities in the country of 1.4 billion people.

Wuhan's usually bustling streets, malls and other public spaces were unnervingly quiet on Day Two of its lockdown, and masks were mandatory in public. Shoppers emptied store shelves, stocking up for what could be an extended period of isolation. Karaoke bars, movie theaters and internet cafes around the region were shut down.

China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, image from China's CCTV video, a patient is carried on a stretcher to an ambulance by medical workers in protective suits in Wuhan, China. China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with a new virus that sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities home to millions of people during the country's most important holiday. (CCTV via AP)

While most of the deaths have been , a 36-year-old man in Hubei died on Thursday.

The vast majority of cases have been in and around Wuhan or involved people who visited the city or had personal connections to those infected. About two dozen cases in all have been confirmed outside mainland China, most of them in AsiaHong Kong, Macao, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Many countries are screening travelers from China and isolating anyone with symptoms.

Chinese officials have not said how long the shutdowns of the cities will last.

Recalling the government's initial cover-up of SARS, many Chinese are suspicious of the case numbers reported by officials. Authorities have promised transparency.

China's cabinet, the State Council, announced it will be collecting information on government departments that have failed in their response to the outbreak, including "delays, concealment and under-reporting of the epidemic."

  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    A security officer wears a hazardous materials suit at a subway station in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. China moved to lock down at least three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds of people and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year holiday. (AP Photo/Yanan Wang)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    People wear masks on a street in Hong Kong, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020 to celebrate the Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac. Cutting off access to entire cities with millions of residents to stop a new virus outbreak is a step few countries other than China would consider, but it is made possible by the ruling Communist Party's extensive social controls and experience fighting the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    Passengers wear face masks as they wait for a train at a subway station in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. China broadened its unprecedented, open-ended lockdowns to encompass around 25 million people Friday to try to contain a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds, though the measures' potential for success is uncertain. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    A worker wearing a hazardous materials suit gives directions to a passenger at a subway station in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. China broadened its unprecedented, open-ended lockdowns to encompass around 25 million people Friday to try to contain a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds, though the measures' potential for success is uncertain. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    A conductor wears a face mask as a train arrives at a subway station in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. China broadened its unprecedented, open-ended lockdowns to encompass around 25 million people Friday to try to contain a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds, though the measures' potential for success is uncertain. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    Heavy equipment works at a construction site for a field hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. China is swiftly building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities during the country's most important holiday. (Chinatopix via AP)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    People wear face masks as they shop for decorations for the upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Rat, at a market in Fuyang in central China's Anhui Province, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities home to millions of people during the country's most important holiday. (Chinatopix via AP)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, photo, a staff member wearing a hazardous materials suit hauls a bin at a hospital that reported a coronavirus death in Yichang in central China's Hubei Province. China is swiftly building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities during the country's most important holiday. (Chinatopix via AP)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    In this Jan. 22, 2020 photo, a man wears a face mask as he walks past a display for the upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Rat, in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. A virus that has killed more than two dozen people and sickened hundreds more has all but shut down China's biggest holiday of the year, the Lunar New Year. Instead of family reunions or sightseeing trips, many of the country's 1.4-billion people are hunkering down as the country scrambles to prevent the illness from spreading further. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
  • China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
    Police officers patrol as passengers queue at the departure hall of the high speed train station in Hong Kong, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020 to celebrate the Lunar New Year which marks the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac. Cutting off access to entire cities with millions of residents to stop a new virus outbreak is a step few countries other than China would consider, but it is made possible by the ruling Communist Party's extensive social controls and experience fighting the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

The state broadcaster CCTV's annual Spring Festival Gala program, which attracted more than 1 billion viewers last year, paid tribute to the medical workers fighting the outbreak.

"Please believe in China," the hosts said. "With the most transparent public information ... on the battlefront of the epidemic, we will definitely win."

© 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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