The Latest: North Korea increases steps against China virus

North Korea said it’s taking “emergency steps” to prevent the spread of a new virus from neighbouring China. The North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Tuesday the country is strengthening quarantine measures at airports, ports and border areas and conducting a medical surveillance of those who return from overseas trips.

The paper also says North Korea’s health authorities have “urgently” produced related hygiene documents and distributed them to medical facilities. North Korea hasn’t officially reported any cases of the new coronavirus. China has confirmed thousands of cases, and other countries have confirmed the virus in dozens of people who travelled from the central Chinese city where the outbreak began last month. Tour operators in Beijing said last week North Korea had banned foreign tourists as a precaution against the virus.

China on Tuesday reported 25 more deaths from a new viral disease as the U.S. government prepared to evacuate Americans from the city at the centre of the outbreak. Authorities reported 24 deaths in Hubei province, where the virus first was detected in December, and one in Beijing, the Chinese capital. No national total was immediately announced but with 81 deaths reported through Monday, that would make the toll at least 106.

The Chinese government has locked down whole cities in Hubei, isolating some 50 million people in a sweeping anti-disease effort. The U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak, was preparing to fly its diplomats and some other Americans out of the country. Japan, Mongolia, France and other governments also were preparing evacuations.