Ten Chinese cities locked down and Beijing celebrations scrapped as Wuhan virus death toll rises

25 people have now died from the virus with 95 more in critical condition.

In an unprecedented quarantine effort, China has imposed a lockdown on 10 of its cities as it bids to curb the spread of a deadly new virus 25 people have died from a fast-spreading coronavirus, as the total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 830.

The update on Friday morning also confirmed the first death outside the central province of Hubei.

Cases have also been confirmed in the US, the UK, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore. Meanwhile, in Belfast, a man remains in isolation as results from tests are awaited to find out if he has the virus. Travel restrictions are currently in effect in China. Wuhan, Huanggang, Xiantao, Ezhou, Qianjiang, Zhijiang, Chibi and Lichuan are all currently affected by the lockdown. The combined population in those cities is approximately 35 million people. In up to 10 cities, transport is suspended on buses, subways, ferries, with airports shut down as well as train stations to outgoing passengers. Officials in China are worried the week-long lunar new year holiday - which begins on Saturday and usually sees hundreds of millions travel around the country - will worsen the spread of the outbreak. The Wuhan virus - as it is often referred to - has been temporarily named the “2019-nCoV”. It belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses, which can be transmitted from person to person. The World Health Organization (WHO) said at a press conference on Thursday the outbreak did not yet constitute a global public health emergency.