Kuwait on Saturday advised its nationals against non-essential travel to Hong Kong and Macau, as mainland China struggles to control a new strain of coronavirus, which has already killed dozens of people.

Hong Kong's government has put in place the highest state of emergency in response to the outbreak of coronavirus, closing all primary and secondary schools after five cases of the pneumonia-causing virus were reported, said Salah Al-Seif, Kuwait's consul general in Hong Kong and Macau.

Kuwait's General Consulate in Hong Kong has set up an emergency hotline at 0085298211669 in case urgent assistance is needed, he said.

Two days earlier, China confirmed 830 cases of patients infected with the new coronavirus, while the death toll from the virus has risen to 25, its National Health Commission has said.

The virus originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, spreading to other cities including Beijing and Shanghai, in addition to the United States, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

News Source: KUNA