7 Wuhan hospitals treating virus-infected patients

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

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

China broened its unprecedented, open-ended lockdowns to encompass around 25 million people on Friday to try to contain dely 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 illness has been concentrated.

In Beijing, major public events were cancelled, including tritional 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 capital.

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