China locking down cities with 18 million to stop virus

Dr. Gauden Galea, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in China, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the WHO's offices in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. Galea said that “trying to contain a city of 11 million people is new to science,” as Wuhan canceled departing trains and flights amid a viral outbreak that the representative said could infect thousands. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Travelers in face masks walk past a display board showing a canceled flight from Wuhan at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday, halting transportation and warning against public gatherings, to try to stop the spread of a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries in the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Travelers wear face masks as they stand in the arrivals area at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday, halting transportation and warning against public gatherings, to try to stop the spread of a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries in the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Passengers wearing protective face masks enter the departure hall of a high speed train station in Hong Kong, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday, halting transportation and warning against public gatherings, to try to stop the spread of a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries in the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A worker hoses down garbage bins outside the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. Overnight, Wuhan authorities announced that the airport and train stations would be closed, and all public transportation suspended by 10 a.m. Friday. Unless they had a special reason, the government said, residents should not leave Wuhan, the sprawling central Chinese city of 11 million that's the epicenter of an epidemic that has infected nearly 600 people. (Chinatopix via AP)
Passengers wear protective face masks at the departure hall of the high speed train station in Hong Kong, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday, halting transportation and warning against public gatherings, to try to stop the spread of a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries in the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

BEIJING — Chinese authorities Thursday moved to lock down at least three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds of people and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year travel period.