Here are the latest updates and a map of where the virus, which has killed at least 26 people and sickened more than 600 people in Asia, has spread.

Experts from the World Health Organization said on Thursday that it was too early to declare the outbreak an international health emergency, even as China took the apparently unprecedented move of keeping millions of people in Wuhan and nearby cities on a travel lockdown.

Looking ahead: The outbreak has dampened growth prospects for the world’s second-largest economy during what is normally a busy spending season. Financial markets fell across Asia on Thursday, led by a sharp drop in stocks in China.

Details: Many of the first 18 victims were men who skewed older and had underlying health issues. But the 18th was the first to die outside the city of Wuhan, the virus’s epicenter.

Go deeper: Wuhan, population 11 million, is an industrial and manufacturing hub that embodies China’s rise as a global economic power. Here’s a video of the city on edge.