7 Wuhan hospitals treating virus-infected patients

The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epidemic centre of a new virus, has designated seven hospitals to concentrate the infected patients, China's state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday.

CCTV footage showed patients being transported by ambulance from Wuhan's Union Hospital to one of the designated hospitals.

China broadened its unprecedented, open-ended lockdowns to encompass around 25 million people on Friday to try to contain the deadly pathogen that has sickened hundreds.

At least eight cities have been shut down – Wuhan, Ezhou, Huanggang, Chibi, Qianjiang, Zhijiang, Jingmen and Xiantao – all in central China's Hubei province, where the illness has been concentrated.

In Beijing, major public events were cancelled, including traditional temple fairs that are a staple of Lunar New Year celebrations.

Medical workers were also screening temperatures of passengers at some interchange subway stations in the capital.

The number of confirmed cases of the new virus has risen to 830, and 26 people have died.