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Malaysia says three new cases of virus infection, total at seven

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By Joseph Sipalan and Liz Lee

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's Health Ministry said on Wednesday three more people had been infected with the new coronavirus, taking the total to seven, all of whom are Chinese citizens.

The new cases involve a 4-year-old girl, a 52-year-old man and the mother of two children confirmed infected earlier, the ministry said in a statement.

Authorities said the mother had initially tested negative and had stayed in Malaysia to take care of her children - grandsons of a 66-year-old man who tested positive in Singapore for the coronavirus last week.

Malaysia this week imposed a temporary ban on Chinese nationals arriving from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and surrounding Hubei province. The country said on Wednesday it was in talks with China to evacuate its 78 citizens from Wuhan.

Separately, Malaysia's communications regulator said it has detained a person accused of spreading fake news on the coronavirus.

The person was arrested over a Facebook post that contained false information on the outbreak, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said.

(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan and Liz Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gerry Doyle and Alison Williams)

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