China on Monday reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new coronavirus, including the first cases in the capital. Two individuals in Beijing and one in the southern city of Shenzhen have also been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, health commissions in the respective cities said Monday. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China. Many of the initial cases had connections to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed for an investigation. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 20, 2020 03:56 UTC