BEIJING, China – A wire agency has reported that China has 17 new cases of the mysterious SARS-like virus on Sunday, including three in a severe condition, heightening fears ahead of China’s Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of people move around the country.

The Agence France Presse (AFP) said new coronavirus strain has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.

Of the 17 new cases in the central city of Wuhan — believed to be the epicenter of the outbreak — three were described as “severe,” of which two patients were too critical to be moved, authorities said.

Those infected range from 30 to 79 years old.

The virus has now infected 62 people in Wuhan, city authorities said, with eight in a severe condition, 19 cured and discharged from hospital, and the rest remaining in isolation receiving treatment. (IAMIGO/Currentph.com)