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Chinese City Stops Outbound Flights, Trains From Wuhan to Fight Virus

Associated Press

   BEIJING - Chinese state media say the city of Wuhan is shutting down
   outbound flights and trains as the country battles the spread of a new
   virus that has sickened hundreds and killed 17.

   The official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday that the city also asked
   people not to leave Wuhan without specific reasons.

   The state-owned People's Daily newspaper said in a tweet that no one
   would be allowed to leave the city starting at 10 a.m. and that train
   stations and the airport will shut down. It said that city buses,
   subways, ferries and long-distance shuttle buses would also be
   temporarily closed, citing Wuhan authorities.

   In Geneva, the World Health Organization said it had put off deciding
   whether to declare the outbreak a global health emergency and asked its
   expert committee on the issue to continue their meeting for a second
   day Thursday. The organization defines a global emergency as an
   "extraordinary event" that constitutes a risk to other countries and
   requires a coordinated international response.

   The number of new cases has risen sharply in China, the center of the
   outbreak. Seventeen people have died, all in Hubei province, since the
   outbreak emerged in its provincial capital of Wuhan late last month,
   officials announced Wednesday night. They said the province has
   confirmed 444 cases there.

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