Another day, another 100 new cases reported of pneumonia-causing coronavirus in China.

The tally for the outbreak which began last month in the central city of Wuhan has now climbed all the way up to 440 people, health authorities announced on Wednesday. Cases have been reported in 13 provincial-level regions across the country.

Meanwhile, the casualty count has gone up as well with nine people dying from the virus, all in Hubei province.

Throughout the week, the number of cases identified in China has shot up by more than 100 each day, nudging the figure closer to foreign experts’ earlier estimates of at least 1,700 infections.

Despite the increases in infections and deaths, Chinese officials have maintained that this new virus is not highly contagious on the level of SARS, though they have admitted that it does spread through human-to-human contact with 15 medical workers in Wuhan becoming infected while treating patients.

Further complicating matters, peak travel season in China is nearly here with hundreds of millions preparing to head home this week to spend the Chinese New Year with their families. Wuhan is one of the country’s major transportation hubs.

Infrared thermometers have installed at the city’s airport, train stations, and bus stations with those showing signs of a fever not being allowed to leave. Of course, these restrictions were only put in this week when the outbreak was already weeks old.