WHO: Coronavirus not yet global health emergency

Ghebreyesus again paid tribute to China's cooperation in the process, saying "This new coronavirus outbreak was detected because China had put in place a system specifically to pick up severe lower respiratory infections. It was that system that caught this event."

Wuhan has been sealed, with some exceptions, in an emergency move to control the virus that has caused 25 deaths amid increasing worries of a wider outbreak. All of the deaths from the new coronavirus, 2019-ncov except one were in Hubei province, while another one was in Hebei province, the National Health Commission said Thursday. Wuhan is the provincial capital of Hubei.

The government of Wuhan, Central China's most populous city, announced Thursday morning that as of 10 am it was indefinitely suspending the city's public transport system, including buses, subways and ferries, and that air and rail passengers would not be allowed to disembark in the city.

Authorities advised city residents, who number more than 11 million, not to leave the city unless necessary.

On Thursday, hundreds of flights to and from Wuhan were canceled, and some highway exits in the city were closed.

Several other cities in Hubei, including Huanggang, Ezhou and Chibi, also took similar measures Thursday to isolate themselves to prevent spread of the disease.

Also Thursday, the Ministry of Transport suspended all long-distance bus and ferry travel to Wuhan, a major port on the Yangtze River, and banned commercial cars, trucks and ships from leaving the city with passengers.

The Hubei provincial government urged Thursday that people suspected of infection be treated in single hospital rooms and be put in hospital rooms with others only when their infection was confirmed.

Wuhan has designated seven hospitals for treating patients who have fevers higher than 37.3 C (99.14 F). These seven hospitals are not treating patients with other illnesses in their wards.

A temporary 25,000-square-meter hospital is being built in the city's Caidian district, according to local media reports.

The Wuhan city government released a notice Wednesday requiring residents to wear face masks in public places, as required by China's laws on infectious disease control and prevention and emergency response.

The city has appealed to the central government for 40 million face masks and 5 million protective gowns to meet its demand.

The number of confirmed cases on the mainland rose to 830, affecting 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

Outside the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao each had two confirmed cases, Taiwan had one.

Thailand had three confirmed cases, and the United States, Japan and South Korea reported one confirmed case each, the commission said.

The outbreak was first reported last month at a seafood market in Wuhan, where wild animals also were sold. The number of confirmed cases has been rising rapidly over the past few days.

Although most are in Hubei province, an increasing number of areas in China have reported cases.

Experts said the large increase in reported cases is related to improvements in techniques of testing for the virus, which results in higher diagnostic efficiency.

Study of the existing cases has revealed an increasing number who had not visited the market, and people who had not traveled to Wuhan becoming infected, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

It released a medical guide on Thursday to help medical institutions quickly diagnose and treat patients so as to reduce the chances of them spreading the virus to other parts of China or overseas.

Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Heath Commission, said the risks of the virus spreading further are increasing with the ongoing 40-day peak traffic season for the upcoming Spring Festival. Li called for all-out efforts to contain the disease in Wuhan.

Scientists in several universities and institutes in the United States and China, including the University of Texas and Fudan University in Shanghai, are working to develop a vaccine for the virus, although time is needed for progress, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Although much remains unclear about the virus, including its source, means of transmission and toxicity, initial study shows the elderly may more easily become infected, while minors are less sensitive to it, according to Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 25 people who died after infection, one was 48 years old, one was 53, and many of the others were older than age 60.

Most of them already had suffered from other physical conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes and stroke, according to the National Health Commission.

The commission has said it will manage the disease as a Grade A infectious disease, which mandates the strictest prevention and control measures, such as quarantine of patients and those in close contact with them.