Chinese officials on Friday extended transport restrictions in the outbreak’s epicenter, Wuhan, to at least seven additional cities.
A total of around 26 million people are currently affected by the lockdown.
Wuhan, which has the majority of cases, also announced Friday that it would build a designated hospital with space for 1,000 beds to cope with the epidemic.
Authorities in Hubei, the province where Wuhan is located, said on Friday that they have sought greater financial support from the central government.
Chinese officials have scrambled to contain the virus, which has hit during the high-travel season of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Some holiday celebrations have been suspended in an attempt to kept the virus from spreading further.
Officials are the World Health Organization (WHO), who are closely monitoring the situation, have warned of a potential public health emergency. Airports around the world have begun screening passengers for the virus.
In spite of a rising death toll in China, the World Health Organization said it was “too early” to declare an official international health emergency. The Chinese government on Friday said there had been at least 26 fatalities and 830 cases of the virus in total so far.
Texas student spent time in Wuhan
Health officials in Texas on Thursday said they were testing a university student for the newly discovered coronavirus, raising fears of a global health emergency.
The student in question, who is enrolled at Texas A&M University in the southeast of the state, had recently traveled to Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak that has been placed on lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading further.
“The patient got sick with a respiratory illness within two weeks of travel in Wuhan, China,” Texas health officials said in a statement confirming their investigation into the possible presence of the virus in the student.
If tests come back positive, it would mark the second diagnosed case of the illness in the United States. A man in Washington state who was diagnosed with the illness earlier this week is said to be in satisfactory condition.
Seasonal flu or deadly virus?
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is coordinating testing of the student, cautioned that the student’s case could be a false alarm. The symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, shortness of breath and coughing, which can overlap with seasonal flu and cold symptoms.
Texas health officials said test results were expected within two days, and the CDC said it would announce a positive case immediately. In the meantime, the patient is being held in isolation.
On Friday, Japan’s health ministry confirmed a second case of coronavirus infection in a man who had been living in Wuhan. The man, who is receiving treatment in Tokyo, said he had been wearing a medical mask during his travels.
Other cases have been reported in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam. South Korea confirmed its second case of the virus on Friday as well.
China also confirmed a second death from the virus outside the Hubei province.