Chinese officials on Thursday expanded the shutdown of public transport around Wuhan, a central city believed to be the epicentre of a new SARS-like virus. Lichuan, a city about 700 kilometres from Wuhan with a population of nearly 1 million, will suspend public transport in the city and surrounding countryside from midnight, local officials said in an online statement. "Without special reason, city residents should not leave Lichuan," they said. ewx/rox/cs