Update, 30 January 2020: The official number of coronavirus infections in China jumped to 7,771 on Thursday, including the first confirmed case in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The official death toll in China also rose to 170. The case in Tibet means that the virus has now spread to all 31 provincial divisions in mainland China.

All Buddhist monasteries and other popular sites and tourist attractions in Tibet have been closed to the public since Monday in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreak, media outlets report. Although the Tibet Autonomous Region so far remains infection-free, cases have been confirmed in Western regions of China, including traditionally Tibetan areas.

At the time of writing, confirmed coronavirus infections in mainland China had reached 6,055, according to official data from the Chinese health authorities, with an official death toll of 132 people. The total number of infections in mainland China now exceeds that of the 2002–03 SARS epidemic, which infected 5,328 people and killed 349 people, according to World Health Organization data. Global coronavirus infections are now reported to total 6,145, with no deaths so far reported outside of China, compared with 8,273 SARS infections and 775 deaths worldwide in 2002–03.

The site closures in Tibet include the iconic Potala Palace, the official residence of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in the former capital Lhasa; the Jokhang temple in the center of Lhasa; and Norbulingka Palace, the traditional summer residence of the Dalai Lama. The central government has also ordered all travel agencies to suspend sales of domestic and international tours as part of efforts to contain the spread of the contagion.