KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Sunday (Feb 9) confirmed a new case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's tally to 17.



The 65-year-old Malaysian is the mother-in-law of Malaysia's first citizen case of coronavirus - a 42-year-old Malaysian man believed to have contracted the virus while attending a conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore.



Malaysia's Ministry of Health said the woman had direct contact with her son-in-law when they sat at the same table during Chinese New Year celebrations on Jan 26, Jan 27 and Jan 28.

The woman stayed home between Jan 29 and Feb 4, the ministry added in its press release.



Malaysia on Sunday also expanded a ban on visitors from China to include Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, after China's decision to lock down cities in the provinces to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over 800 lives.



The Southeast Asian nation on Jan 27 imposed a temporary ban on travellers arriving from the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, and the surrounding province of Hubei.

Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the decision follows China's move to extend its lockdown to five cities in Zhejiang and two in Jiangsu.

China's Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital, has been on lockdown since Jan 23.

"Travel restrictions will be enforced in accordance with the lock-down region imposed by the Chinese Government," Wan Azizah said in a statement on Sunday.

The restriction will be imposed on all tourists regardless of nationality who have visited Hubei, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, she added.

Of the 17 confirmed cases in Malaysia, three have recovered and have been discharged from hospital.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has reached 811 as of Saturday, according to China's National Health Commission.



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