An outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has spread to more cities, Chinese authorities said yesterday, as the number of patients tripled and a third person died, stoking concerns about containment of the illness.

The Daxing health commission in the capital Beijing said it had confirmed two cases of coronavirus, while the southern Guangdong province’s health commission confirmed one case in Shenzhen. They mark the first cases in China beyond the central city of Wuhan where the virus first emerged.

President Xi Jinping said yesterday that it was “extremely crucial” to take every possible measure to combat a new coronavirus that has infected more than 200 people in the country.

His remarks, cited by state broadcaster CCTV, came the same day that the country reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected by the novel form of viral pneumonia, including the first cases in the capital.

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The outbreak comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. “The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously,” Mr Xi said, according to CCTV. “Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people’s lives and health first.”

Health authorities in the central city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. As of the weekend, a third patient had died, bringing the death toll to three.

Five individuals in Beijing and 14 in southern China’s Guangdong have also been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, state broadcaster CCTV reported yesterday evening. A total of seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus strain had been found in the city over the weekend, adding to 62 already known cases. A third death occurred on Saturday, the authority said in a statement.

This brings the total number of known cases worldwide to more than 200, underscoring the challenge for health authorities seeking to contain the outbreak. South Korea yesterday reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, a 35-year-old female Chinese national who had travelled from Wuhan, the fourth patient to be reported outside China.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese tourists will be travelling domestically and abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday period that starts later this week.

A report by London Imperial College’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by January 12 there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with onset of related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report.

Authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travellers from Wuhan. Last week, two cases were reported in Thailand and one in Japan. All three involved people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city.

The virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China. Its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts.

China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday it will step up prevention efforts, but acknowledged it still doesn’t know the source of the virus.

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