China's coronavirus death toll rises to 80

January 27, 2020

The death toll from a new virus has risen to 80 with more than 2,700 confirmed cases, China's government say, after the health minister warned that the virus's ability to "spread is getting stronger."

China also Monday extended the Lunar New Year holiday by three days to next Sunday in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

The National Health Commission said there were 769 new cases confirmed in the 24 hours through midnight Sunday, totalling 2,744 confirmed cases.

The government also reported five cases in Hong Kong and two in Macao. Scattered have been found in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the US, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada and Australia. The US has confirmed cases in Washington state, Chicago, Southern California and Arizona.