Chinese premier visits epicenter of virus as death toll reaches 80

WUHAN: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan on Monday, the epicenter of a new coronavirus epidemic that killed 80 people and affected more than 2,700 people, as Beijing tried to communicate how strongly it intends to react to the crisis.

In the meantime, Wuhan said it would terminate visa and passport services for Chinese citizens until January 30 to reinforce virus control, the city’s exit-entry office said in a press release on Monday.

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Officials of the health department said that the number of deaths from the flu-like virus in the province of Hubei, including Wuhan city, increased from 56 to 76 overnight, with four deaths elsewhere in China.

While a small number of cases were reported in more than 10 countries, no deaths were registered elsewhere. The overall number of reported cases in China increased to 2,744, about half of which were in Hubei, about 30 percent.

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Premier Li is the senior leader to reach Wuhan since the epidemic started. He went to the city to review the ongoing efforts to combat the outbreak spoke with patients and medical professionals, according to a statement from the Chinese government.