BEIJING, China - The authorities in Huanggang city in China have imposed a quarantine lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus.

The South China Morning Post reported that the authorities in Huanggang announced the lockdown at midnight, halting public transport and trains out of the city.

The report in the Chinese daily added that people have been ordered not to leave unless in exceptional circumstances.

Citing a media report, the South China Morning Post claimed that the southern Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, had reported six new infections, taking its confirmed total to 32.

At least 17 people have been killed and 570 people are infected with Coronavirus which has originated from Wuhan, a city of more than 11 million.

The new virus first emerged in the end of December and is a cousin of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus.

Scientist Leo Poon, who first decoded the virus, thinks it likely started in an animal and spread to humans.

"What we know is it causes pneumonia and then doesn't respond to antibiotic treatment, which is not surprising, but then in terms of mortality, SARS kills 10% of the individuals," CNN quoted Poon, a virologist at the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong, said.

Earlier, the authorities in Wuhan city in China where the coronavirus originated, had imposed a complete travel ban on local residents, in a bid to curb the spread of the deadly virus. The ban issued by command authority in the city said that from 10:00 am on Thursday, urban buses, subways, ferries and long-distance passenger transport would be suspended in the city.

Flights and trains departing from Wuhan were also suspended.

So far, the cases of the virus have been detected in the US, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.(ANI)