• Chinese health authorities confirmed more than 100 cases of a new Sars-like virus on Monday as the country’s peak holiday travel season begins, sparking concerns over spread of the viral strain.
• While the virus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late December, the 139 new cases reported over the weekend in China included cases from capital Beijing in the north of the country, the southern city of Shenzhen. This brings the total to more than 200 confirmed cases.
• “It’s highly likely we’ll see this virus spread given it appears there’s some form of human-to-human transmission and given the scale of travel in the lead-up to Chinese New Year,” said Alexandra Phelan, faculty research instructor in the microbiology and immunology department at Georgetown University.

Many Chinese people are heading home for the Lunar New Year - with face masks