SHANGHAI — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus grew to 80 on Monday as residents of Hubei province, where the disease originated, were banned from entering Hong Kong amid global efforts to halt the rapid spread of the outbreak. The number of deaths from the flu-like virus in Hubei province climbed from 56 to 76 overnight, health commission officials said, with four deaths elsewhere. The total number of confirmed cases in China had risen about 30% to 2,744. HONG KONG BAN, GLOBAL SCREENINGThe World Health Organisation (WHO) last week stopped short of calling the outbreak a global health emergency, but some health experts question whether China can contain the epidemic. Chinese-ruled Hong Kong has six confirmed cases and said it would ban entry from Monday to people who have visited Hubei province in the past 14 days.

Source: National Post January 27, 2020 00:45 UTC