Ten cities in China's Hubei province have been placed under emergency travel restrictions to control the spread of the coronavirus, including the provincial capital Wuhan, where the new pathogen was first detected.

Wuhan is under effective lockdown, with all public transport in and out of the city closed.
Other cities across Hubei are under less severe travel restrictions, but the number of cities affected is growing. They include Ezhou, Huanggang, Chibi, Xiantao, Zhejiang, Qianjiang, Huangshi, Xianning and Yichang.

Earlier Friday, the province upgraded its emergency response level to 1, the highest level. Beijing and Shanghai have also instituted Level 1 emergency responses, as have several other cities across China.

Restrictions include shutting down railway stations, bus stations, intercity transport links, or preventing private vehicles from driving on certain roads. Authorities in each of the cities have not yet announced when these restrictions will be lifted. 

Dozens of people are dead in China and more than 800 infected as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread throughout Asia and across the world.

Authorities in Beijing and other cities have cancelled some or all large-scale Lunar New Year celebrations, a rare, drastic step to reign in the spread of the virus.