Xi Calls Situation Grave As China Scrambles To Contain Virus

BEIJING (AP) – China’s leader has called the accelerating spread of a new virus a grave situation, as cities from the outbreak’s epicenter in central China to Hong Kong scrambled to stop the spread of an illness that has infected more than 1,200 people and killed 41. The city of Wuhan where the outbreak started is banning most vehicles from downtown to restrict people’s movement, while Hong Kong is closing schools for two weeks. The vast majority of the infections and all the deaths have been in mainland China, but fresh cases are popping up. Australia and Malaysia reported their first cases Saturday and Japan confirmed its third.