A Chinese pensioner who took 27 days to show coronavirus symptoms has sparked fears that a 14-day quarantine is two weeks too short.

The 70-year-old man was infected with the killer virus in China's Hubei Province and showed symptoms nearly four weeks later, the local government said on Saturday.

He drove to Shennongjia, in north-western Hubei, from eastern Ezhou, where he had close contact with his sister, who had been infected, on January 24, according to the Hubei government website.

A Chinese pensioner, 70, who took 27 days to show coronavirus symptoms has sparked fears that a 14-day quarantine is too short. He made contact with his sister in Shennongjia, in north-western Hubei, from eastern Ezhou,who had been infected, on January 24

The pensioner, identified as Jiang, developed fever on February 20 and tested positive for coronavirus a day later, according to a government statement.

This case could change the current policy which presumes a 14-day incubation period.

It comes as the global epidemic has killed 2,458 people and infected 78,572.

And there is a reported surge in untraceable clusters of new coronavirus patients which has caused experts to warn that 'containment methods are not going to work'.

The pensioner then developed developed fever on February 20 and tested positive for coronavirus a day later, according to the Hubei government website. Pictured: Market workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant at a market in the southeastern city of Daegu, South Korea, on February 23

It comes as the global epidemic has killed 2,458 people and infected 78,572. Pictured: A nurse preparing a room at the quarantine department at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon

The new coronavirus spreads 'as easily as a common cold', unlike its cousins SARS, MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

It's 'certainly being spread by people who show such mild symptoms that no one can tell'.

South Korea reported that new cases in the country had more than doubled in one day, raising the total to 433, on February 22.

And officials in Italy confirmed the first deaths of Europeans from the virus, after two pensioners died. Neither had travelled to China, adding to fears the virus could spiral out of control.

Figures today show a surge in untraceable clusters of new coronavirus patients around the globe has caused experts to warn that 'containment methods are not going to work'

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his government was maintaining 'an extremely high level of precaution' after 45 people were diagnosed with the virus.

The Italian authorities placed 50,000 people in lockdown in ten towns in Lombardy and Veneto, telling them to remain indoors.

Thirty-two Brits and European passengers who were trapped on board the virus-riddled Diamond Princess cruise liner off the coast of Japan have been flown back to Britain.