The toll in the novel coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 304 on Sunday, the South China Morning Post reported, quoting the country’s National Health Commission. The number of people infected by the virus in mainland China, except Hong Kong and Macau, increased to 14,380.

On Saturday morning, the toll was 259. All the 45 deaths on Saturday took place in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, while 1,921 new cases emerged from the province.

The commission also said that 4,561 suspected new cases have been reported around the country, PTI reported. On Saturday, 315 patients became seriously ill and 85 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, the panel added.

As of Saturday, Hubei province has reported 9,074 confirmed cases, with 43,121 still under observation for infection. Of the confirmed cases, 1,118 are in severe condition and 444 are critical.

The eastern city of Wenzhou restricted the movement of residents and closed roads on Sunday. Only one person per household is allowed to go out every two days to buy necessities, authorities said. The city, over 800 km away from Wuhan, has 265 confirmed infections. Wuhan is already under a lockdown.

The virus has spread to 23 countries, including two cases in India. The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

Meanwhile, a Chinese man died in the Philippines on Saturday, making this the first coronavirus death outside China, the South China Morning Post reported. The 44-year-old man had arrived in the Philippines from Wuhan with a 38-year-old Chinese woman on January 21 after travelling through Hong Kong. The woman had also tested positive for the virus and is recovering in hospital.

“This is the first reported death outside China,” Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the World Health Organization representative for the Philippines, said. The news came hours after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte issued a temporary travel ban on visitors from China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

India says passengers from Thailand, Singapore to be screened

Meanwhile, the Indian government decided on Saturday that passengers arriving from Thailand and Singapore, along with those coming from China and Hong Kong, will also be screened at airports for the coronavirus. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan in Delhi.

The government said that so far, 52,332 passengers from 326 flights have been screened. As many as 98 travellers with symptoms of the illness have been sent to isolation facilities, and 97 of them have tested negative for the virus.

A second special Air India flight carrying 330 passengers – 323 Indians and seven Maldivians – from Wuhan landed in Delhi on Sunday morning, PTI reported. The first flight, which evacuated 324 Indians, had landed in New Delhi on Saturday.