More than 1,280 infected in China as officials try to stem spread of virus which has reached Europe, the US and Australia. Follow the latest newsFull report: 50m people in China under lockdownSpread of virus shakes faith in Chinese governmentShare your stories 2.04pm GMT In China, 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have now raised their public health alert to the highest level (level one), according to Global Times. This enables measures such as quarantining. 1.58pm GMT Chinese tourism continues to be impacted by the spread of the virus. China is to suspend all tour groups businesses, at home and abroad, from Monday. It follows the closure of Shanghai´s Disneyland, and popular Sanya City shutting down all tourist sites. 1.24pm GMT The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has held a special government meeting to address the spread of the virus. The president warned of a `grave situation` at a meeting with the politburo on the lunar new year public holiday, state television reported. He also said the virus was `accelerating its speed`. 1.12pm GMT 1.01pm GMT Beijing now has five confirmed cases of coronavirus, but two of those had no connection with the province of Hubei. This appears to be the first time the virus has spread without having a direct link to Hubei, indicating that the virus is now being transmitted person-to-person within the capital. 12.57pm GMT Footage from the BBC´s China correspondent, Stephen McDonell, shows the deserted streets of Hubei, the province where the virus originated. The streets are empty in the small towns of Hubei Province where the #coronavirus outbreak started. #China pic.twitter.com/uwycGlhDtQ 12.54pm GMT The lockdown has now been expanded to another 16 cities, according to Associated Press. This brings the total to 17 cities, including Wuhan, affecting 50 million people - more than the population of New York, London, Paris and Moscow combined. The cities of Yichang, Suizhou and Jingzhou were the latest added to t ...
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