Health Officials In China Say 9 Dead From Newly Identified Coronavirus
Chinese health officials say that while the new virus doesn't appear to be as virulent as the one that caused a SARS pandemic 17 years ago, it is still "highly infectious."
Updated at 5:25 a.m. ET
A newly identified strain of coronavirus has killed nine people in China, with 440 other confirmed infections, health officials in Beijing said Wednesday, as they expressed concern over its spread during the Lunar New Year celebrations.
China's Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control said that while the virus does not appear to be as virulent as the one that caused a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome pandemic 17 years ago, it is nonetheless "highly infectious."
"The virus is, which overseas the bureau, said at a Wednesday morning news conference in Beijing. "It may mutate and there is risk of further spread."
