Chinese tourists wearing protective masks wait in line at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand

Japan and the US have airlifted hundreds of their citizens from the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose again to 132.

Some 201 US citizens were airlifted to southern California where they will remain under medical observation.

However the UK government has said it will not be launching an evacuation of its citizens anytime soon. It is understood China has not granted the necessary permissions to allow for the removal of British nationals on Thursday.

Confirmed cases of the virus also rose sharply to more than 6,000 on Wednesday, overtaking the 5,327 confirmed cases of SARS during the same time period in the 2002-2003 outbreak which killed more than 750 people in 17 countries worldwide.

Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it would reconvene officials to decide whether the outbreak constituted an emergency of international concern.