The governor of Hubei province said that acute pneumonia caused by nCoV virus was particularly serious in Huangjiang city.

Unable to turn Huangjiang into a second Wuhan "outbreak," Wang Xiaodong, chief of Hubei province, said at a press conference on January 29, referring to the outbreak and the focus of acute pneumonia.

Wang also recommends that businesses in Hubei Province not restart production until after February 13.

Huangjiang has 7.5 million people, a neighboring city in Wuhan, one of the cities in China that is being cordoned off to prevent an outbreak. The city had 5 deaths and 324 nCoV infections by January 28, the second highest after Wuhan, the industrial center of central China.

The outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new strain of nCoV is thought to have originated in a seafood and meat market in Wuhan. The number of deaths and infections has increased rapidly over the past few days, as travel demand during the Lunar New Year has increased.

Chinese officials say the death toll from the epidemic has risen to 170 and the number of infections over 7,700 by January 29, mostly in Wuhan. More than 50 million people were affected by blockade orders in Chinese cities.

The disease has spread to provinces and parts of the world. Many countries are evacuating citizens from Wuhan, and flights to and from China have been canceled.

"The nCoV virus is evil and we cannot let it hide. China will strengthen international cooperation and welcome WHO to participate in disease prevention. China is confident it will prevent this virus." Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at a meeting with the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 28.

Many experts believe that the new strain of nCoV is not as deadly as SARS, but warns of rapid spread and many unknown features about the virus.

Like other respiratory infections, Wuhan pneumonia virus is spread from a cough and sneeze outbreak with incubation period of 14 days. There are indications that the nCoV virus can spread before symptoms appear.

The WHO has said it will convene an emergency committee on the evolution of Wuhan pneumonia.