Beijing: China's delayed response to the discovery of a deadly new Coronavirus infection worsened the epidemic, the most senior official from the city at the centre of the outbreak said on Friday. More than 213 people have died and nearly 10,000 others have been infected in China by the SARS-like virus and new cases have been found abroad, with more than 20 countries now affected by the disease.

Public anger has simmered on Chinese social media over the handling of the health emergency by local authorities in Wuhan, where the virus was first detected. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak that has spread to more than a dozen countries, including India, as a global health emergency. The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency — a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international coordination in tackling the disease.