WUHAN, China: China on Monday extended its biggest national holiday to buy time in the fight against a viral epidemic, as the death toll spiked to 81 despite unprecedented quarantine measures and travel lockdowns.

In a sign of the mounting official concern, Premier Li Keqiang visited the ground-zero province of Hubei to oversee containment efforts in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people where the coronavirus emerged late last year.