The death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has risen to 1,868, up by 98 from the previous day, the country's National Health Commission says.

Key points: The Australian Government say it will provide $2 million for vaccine research

The Australian Government say it will provide $2 million for vaccine research Health officials in China say the infection rate seems to have been declining since February 1

Health officials in China say the infection rate seems to have been declining since February 1 A new study has found the virus causes severe disease in 14 per cent and critical illness in only 5 per cent

The central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 93 new deaths, while in the provincial capital of Wuhan, 72 people died.

Across mainland China, there were 1,886 new confirmed infections, bringing the national total so far to 72,436.

Earlier, the Australian Government announced it would provide $2 million to try to develop a vaccine for the virus.

The money will be allocated through a grants system from the Medical Research Future Fund.

"We want to get as many of the brightest and smartest minds in Australia working on this task," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

"This is a task that's not only important for Australia, it's very important more broadly for our region as well which is very exposed and very vulnerable at this time," he said.

Another 1,200 doctors and nurses from China's military began arriving in Wuhan on Monday (local time), the latest contingent sent to help shore up the city's overwhelmed healthcare system with more than 32,000 additional personnel.

Wuhan has rapidly built two prefabricated hospitals and converted gymnasiums and other spaces into wards for those showing milder symptoms, but residents still say they are being wait-listed for beds and even ambulance rides.

On Monday, health officials in China published the first details on nearly 45,000 cases of the novel coronavirus disease, reporting more than 80 per cent of cases were mild and new cases seemed to be falling since earlier this month, although it was far too soon to tell whether the outbreak had peaked.

Monday's report from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention gives the World Health Organization (WHO) a "clearer picture of the outbreak, how it's developing and where it's headed," the WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference.

"It's too early to tell if this reported decline will continue. Every scenario is still on the table," he said.

The new disease, recently renamed COVID-19 by the WHO, has spread to more than two dozen countries.

The new study reports on 44,672 cases confirmed in China as of February 11. The virus caused severe disease such as pneumonia in 14 per cent of them and critical illness in 5 per cent.

The fatality rate for these confirmed cases is 2.3 per cent — 2.8 per cent for males versus 1.7 per cent for females.

That is lower than for SARS and MERS, two similar viruses, but COVID-19 has a higher death toll as it has spread to far more people. Ordinary flu has a fatality rate of 0.1 per cent yet kills hundreds of thousands because it infects millions each year.

Cases seem to have been declining since February 1, but could change as people return to work and school after the Chinese holidays, the report has warned.

Wires/ABC