Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Wuhan amid virus outbreak

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan on Monday as the number of deaths from a spreading viral outbreak has risen to 81.

China on Monday expanded sweeping efforts to contain the viral disease by extending the Lunar New Year holiday to keep the public at home and avoid spreading infection.

State broadcaster CCTV on Monday showed footage of Li, in a blue smock and green face mask, meeting medical workers at Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital.

Li promised that more shipment of protection gear and medical teams from all over the country would reach Wuhan to assist the hospitals of the city, according to CCTV.

Li also visited the construction site of a new hospital for the novel virus disease, urging the workers to race with time.

Later, wearing a face mask and a dark windbreaker, the premier visited a supermarket, where he told shoppers that the central government would guarantee sufficient supplies to the market and the stability of prices, CCTV said.

Li is the head of the ruling party's top leading body for the control of the novel virus epidemic.