The death toll from China's coronavirus outbreak has now passed 100, the country's health authorities say.

Key points: The national total of confirmed cases rises to 4,515, health authorities say

The national total of confirmed cases rises to 4,515, health authorities say Most confirmed cases elsewhere in the world involved people who visited Wuhan, but there has been at least one exception where the infected patient had not visited the region

Most confirmed cases elsewhere in the world involved people who visited Wuhan, but there has been at least one exception where the infected patient had not visited the region Japan, France and Mongolia and other governments are preparing to evacuate citizens from Wuhan

China's National Health Commission (NHC) said 24 more people had died in Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak.

There was also a death in Hainan province, and a death in the capital Beijing, which was reported overnight.

The national toll was now 106, authorities said.

There were 1,771 new cases confirmed in China on Monday, raising the total to 4,515, according to the Health Commission.

It confirmed 976 of those new cases were in a serious condition.

In addition to air transmission, the coronavirus can be spread through physical contact, the NHC said in a statement.

No fatalities have been reported outside of China.

The new coronavirus is said to be infectious even during incubation, unlike SARS. ( Reuters )

Evacuations out of Wuhan planned

The previously unknown coronavirus strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at an animal market in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people.

The Education Ministry cancelled English-proficiency exams, and other tests for students to apply to foreign universities were cancelled.

Public schools and universities have been ordered to postpone reopening.

The US Consulate in Wuhan, where authorities cut off most access in January 22 in an effort to contain the disease, was preparing to fly its diplomats and some other Americans out of the city.

US health officials expanded their recommendation for people to avoid non-essential travel to any part of China, rather than just Wuhan and other areas most affected by the outbreak.

Japan, France and Mongolia and other governments were also preparing evacuations.

US President Donald Trump offered China "any help that is necessary" to control the virus.

"We are in very close communication with China concerning the virus," Mr Trump, who waged a bruising 18-month trade war with Beijing, said in a tweet.

As of Monday, there were five Americans diagnosed with the virus in Washington state, Chicago, Southern California and Arizona, all of whom had recently travelled to central China.

Health officials said they had no evidence the virus was spreading in the US and they believe the risk to Americans remained low.

More than 45 cases have been confirmed elsewhere in the world. Almost all involve Chinese tourists or people who visited Wuhan.

A German car parts supplier confirmed one of its employees had become infected despite never visiting China, but following the visit of a Chinese employee of the company to its German headquarters.

Both employees are now infected, with the Chinese employee testing positive upon his return to Shanghai, and the German employee testing positive soon after.

In Japan, a 60-year-old tour bus driver who had not visited Wuhan has contracted the virus, health minister Katsunobu Kato confirmed.

Sri Lanka confirmed its first cases on Monday. Infections have also been confirmed in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada and Australia.

Wuhan lockdown expanded

China's increasingly drastic containment efforts began with the suspension of plane, train and bus links to Wuhan.

That lockdown has expanded to 17 cities with more than 50 million people in the most far-reaching disease-control measures ever imposed.

China extended the Lunar New Year holiday, the country's busiest travel season, by three days to Sunday to keep the public at home and reduce the risk of infection spread.

The end of the holiday was pushed back to Sunday from Thursday to "reduce mass gatherings" and "block the spread of the epidemic", according to a Cabinet statement.

Wuhan is building two hospitals, one with 1,500 beds and another with 1,000, for the growing number of patients. The first is scheduled to be finished next week.

Tourists urged not to travel to China

The Philippines' Bureau of Immigration said it would temporarily stop issuing tourist visas on arrival to Chinese nationals to help ensure the country remained free of the new coronavirus.

"We are taking this proactive measure to slow down travel, and possibly help prevent the entry of the 2019-nCov," Jaime Morente, the bureau's commissioner said in a statement.

Kazakhstan's deputy foreign minister Shukhrat Nuryshev said his country will require medical certificates from Chinese citizens seeking visas and has also stopped issuing electronic visas to them on arrival as a protective measure against coronavirus.

Mongolia closed its vast border with China, and Hong Kong and Malaysia are barring visitors from Hubei province.

The high-speed rail service between Hong Kong and mainland China will be suspended from January 30, and the number of flights to mainland China will be halved.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said all cross-border ferry services as well as personal travel permits for mainland Chinese people to the city would also be suspended.

Chinese travel agencies were ordered to cancel group tours nationwide.

Elsewhere, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, closed indefinitely to tourists, the former imperial palace in Beijing closed last week and other major tourist sites have also shut down, including two of Hong Kong's most popular tourist attractions, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park.

Three regions in Russia's far east that share a border with China — the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Khabarovsk and Amur regions — have closed their borders to China until February 7.

Meanwhile, North Korea will impose a one-month quarantine on all foreigners arriving from China, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang announced.

North Korea has not publicly reported any cases of the new strain of virus.

The virus is from the coronavirus family that includes the common cold but also more severe illnesses like SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

The new virus causes cold- and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath and pneumonia.

ABC/Wires