BEIJING (Sputnik) - The authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the origin of the new coronavirus outbreak, are planning to build a new hospital in six days to receive patients affected by the virus, media reported on Thursday.

The Xin Jing Bao newspaper reported that the hospital will be located in the vicinity of Wuhan and plans for it should be prepared by Friday evening. It is currently undecided whether it will be a one or two-story building, but further details are to be revealed soon.

According to the outlet, the local government said that it would use the previous experience of back in 2003 when the Xiaotangshan hospital was built in Beijing to deal with the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic.

Media reports also say that about 300,000 people had left Wuhan before the city imposed travel restriction. The Xin Jing Bao newspaper reported that 16 trains left for Beijing, while 42 and 26 others headed for the Chinese cities of Changsha and Guangzhou.

The unknown type of viral pneumonia was first reported in Wuhan in early January and has since been confirmed by China and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be a new strain of the coronavirus, currently being labeled as 2019-nCoV or Novel Coronavirus.

WHO said on Thursday, however, it was too early to declare global emergency over China's coronavirus.

"For the moment, WHO does not recommend any broader restrictions on travel or trade.

We recommend exit screening at airports as part of a comprehensive set of containment measures"-@DrTedros on new #coronavirus — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 23, 2020

Earlier, the Chinese authorities confirmed the virus can be transmitted from human to human through coughing and sneezing. The virus has already been detected in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

At least 17 people have died, and over 600 have been infected so far.