The death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 1,000 on Monday as governments around the world work to contain the outbreak.

Officials announced Monday that 1,016 people in mainland China had died from the coronavirus and that 42,638 people had contracted the infection, The New York Times reported. The statistics indicate a rapid surge in the number of confirmed cases and deaths stemming from it.

China's National Health Commission reported Sunday 40,171 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 908 deaths. The Hubei province, the epicenter of the virus, announced 103 deaths in the past day from the deadly disease, accounting for a majority of the newly reported deaths.

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The coronavirus first appeared in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December among people who were exposed to wildlife at a seafood market. In the intervening weeks, it has spread to thousands of people in more than a dozen countries, including the United States. Hong Kong and the Philippines have each reported one death stemming from the virus.

The World Health Organization last month declared the coronavirus to be a health emergency of "international concern."