China has now locked down two more cities, Huanggang and Ezhou, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Previously, Wuhan had shut down all public transport and prevented 11 million people in the city from leaving.
Huanggang and Ezhou locked down
Huanggang, a city of seven million people located east of Wuhan, implemented a similar lockdown a few hours after Wuhan.
According to Reuters, authorities in Huanggang closed down cinemas and internet cafes and, just like in Wuhan, encouraged people not to leave the city.
Ezhou, another city near Wuhan, has suspended its public transport, a railway station, as well.
The city has about one million residents.
This means that in total, about 19 million people are currently prevented from leaving their cities.
Over 600 confirmed cases & 17 dead
According to state media China Global Television Network (CGTN), there are now at least 620 confirmed cases in China and six confirmed cases abroad.
The death toll has risen to 17, compared to only nine yesterday.
The virus originated from a Wuhan seafood market in that kept illegal wildlife in captivity and is mutating.
The coronavirus is also contagious between humans.
Cases of people with Wuhan virus but with no travel history to Wuhan has also been confirmed.
Top image via Wikipedia.