A new coronavirus centered in China continues to spread at an alarming rate despite the Chinese leadership’s efforts to contain it.

As part of efforts to stop the highly-contagious virus from spreading further, the Chinese government announced on Monday that it would extend the week-long Lunar New Year holiday by three days to this Sunday. The move came two days after Chinese President Xi Jinping declared war against the disease. 

Also on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to "inspect and direct" efforts to control the deadly virus outbreak. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese Education Ministry announced that primary and secondary schools will be suspended until February 17th as parts of efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

The latest measures come as the death toll from the coronavirus surged to 106 and confirmed cases reached four-thousand-515 in China as of Monday morning. Compared to Sunday, the death toll rose by 26 and confirmed cases by some one-thousand-771, demonstrating that the virus is spreading at a much faster pace than expected.