China coronavirus infections spike in central city of Wuhan

People wearing protective face masks walk past laundry hanging outside a house at a residential area in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hubei province, China March 4, 2020 [Reuters]

Mainland China reported a rise in new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Thursday, reversing three straight days of declines, because of a spike in new infections in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak.

Mainland China had 139 new confirmed cases as of Wednesday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said, bringing the total accumulated number of cases to 80,409. Authorities reported 119 new cases the previous day and 125 the day before that.