Asian countries on Tuesday ramped up measures to block the spread of a new virus as the death toll in
China rose to six and the number of cases surpassed 300, raising concerns in the middle of a major holiday travel rush.
![Asia steps up checks as China virus kills six, infects more than 300](http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/90f521b8b78271a60adcbf7c5e5785d2e2205e28.jpg)
Nations across the Asia-Pacific region stepped up checks of passengers at airports to detect the SARS-like coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Fears of a bigger outbreak rose after a prominent expert from China's National Health Commission confirmed late Monday that the virus can be passed between people.