(Yicai Global) Jan. 21 -- Chinese leading online travel agency Trip.Com, formerly known as Ctrip.Com, promised on China's Twitter-like Weibo that all users can cancel their orders for hotels, transport and tickets to and in Wuhan for free from today to Jan. 31.

The company undertook to do so in response to the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that originated in a wholesale meat and seafood market in the central China transit hub home to 11 million residents.

The company will cover the losses of consumers if some of the orders can't be cancelled at original price, it said.

Alibaba Group Holding's Fliggy, Qunar.Com, Tongcheng-Elong, Meituan Dianping and other Chinese online travel agencies have also announced similar policies to deal with the crisis.

Coronaviruses are common viruses that cause infections of the nose, sinuses or throat. Most are not dangerous, but some are deadly. The name corona ('crown') describes their circular structure with its radiating filaments. A novel coronavirus is a new strain not previously seen in humans.

Editor: Ben Armour