BEIJING, Feb 18 — The number of deaths in China's central Hubei province from a coronavirus outbreak rose by 93 to 1,789 as of yesterday, the province's health commission said on its website today.

There had been a further 1,807 cases detected in Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, taking the total in the province to 59,989.

Most of the new deaths yesterday were in Hubei's provincial capital of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated.

Wuhan reported 72 new deaths, down from 76 on Sunday. A total of 1,381 people in Wuhan have now died from the virus.

New confirmed cases in Wuhan stood at 1,600, down from 1,690 on Sunday. — Reuters