A further 103 people have died from coronavirus in 24 hours in the epicentre of the deadly disease, Chinese authorities have revealed.
The latest deaths were confirmed by the country's health commission in the Hubei province.
Each of them died today, February 10.
It brings the death toll to more than 1,000, with 909 people known to have died by the end of Sunday.
On Sunday 97 people died from the virus in China - previously the highest number to be killed in 24 hours.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that the spread of coronavirus cases among people who have not been to China could be "the spark that becomes a bigger fire" and the human race must not let the epidemic get out of control.
There are over 40,000 confirmed cases in China, as well as 319 cases in 24 other countries, including one death, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
As scientists race to develop tests and treatments, the WHO says 168 labs globally have the right technology to diagnose the virus.
More companies have been struggling to find clinical virus samples to validate the tests they have developed.
Wu Fan, vice-dean of Shanghai Fudan University Medical school, said there was hope of a turning point in the outbreak.
But Ghebreyesus said there had been "concerning instances" of transmission from people who had not been to China.
"It could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire," Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
"But for now it is only a spark. Our objective remains containment," he said, adding that a concerted global effort was needed "to fight this virus before it gets out of control."
An advance team of international WHO experts arrived in China to investigate the outbreak.
Its death toll has now surpassed that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds worldwide in 2002/2003.
We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.
