Coronavirus: death toll doubles to 17 as China struggles to halt spread
Government unveils new countermeasures as country prepares for lunar new year
Seventeen people have now died from the mysterious Sars-like coronavirus, Chinese authorities have said, as the government unveiled measures to rein in the spread of the disease and advised residents of Wuhan not to leave the city.
The figure, announced by the provincial government of the central province of Hubei, where the virus is believed to have originated, almost doubles the previous fly estimated death toll.