It was also reported that all flights and trains departing from Wuhan would be temporarily canceled to halt spread of the new virus.

People have been advised not to leave the city, in a week when millions of Chinese are travelling for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

The infectious respiratory illness, which is believed to spread through human-to-human contact, have been reported in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

The outbreak has led to at least 17 deaths so far.

World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency committee has announced it will not yet declare a global emergency over the new virus.

"There was an excellent discussion during the committee today, but it was also clear that to proceed, we need more information. For that reason, I have decided to ask the Emergency Committee to meet again tomorrow to continue their discussion, and the Chair, Dr Houssin, has agreed with that request.The decision about whether or not to declare a public health emergency of international concern is one I take extremely seriously, and one I am only prepared to make with appropriate consideration of all the evidence," said Director general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus after a day of discussions in Geneva on Wednesday.

ILKHA