Chinese hotel used to observe virus contacts collapses

Forty-seven people have been rescued from a collapsed hotel in southern China's Quanzhou city, the country's state media reported on Sunday.

The hotel was used for medical observation of people who had travelled to the city from epidemic regions, CCTV said, citing local authorities.

The 80-room hotel collapsed on Saturday afternoon, trapping 67 people, CCTV said. No deaths were reported.

China, where the virus first emerged in December, has confirmed more than 80,000 cases, by far the most in the world.

It has recorded 44 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours, the lowest level since it began publishing nationwide figures on 20 January.