BEIJING, Jan 31 — A coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan, the capital of China's central province of Hubei, has spread to more than 9,800 people globally, surpassing the total from the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic. The new virus has killed 213 people.

Here is what we know:

  • There are 129 confirmed cases in 22 countries and regions outside mainland China, including Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and the United States.
  • No deaths have been reported outside China.
  • The World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern yesterday.
  • The United States reported its first case of person-to-person transmission. Germany, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea have also recorded similar transmissions, which suggest greater potential for the virus to spread.
  • Several Chinese cities have levied strict travel curbs.
  • The US State Department told Americans not to travel to China.
  • Global airlines have suspended or scaled back direct flights to China's major cities.
  • Countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States are working to evacuate citizens from Wuhan or have already started.
  • A charter flight carrying 368 South Koreans from Wuhan landed in Seoul. The evacuees were taken to quarantine centres.
  • A plane carrying 83 British and 27 other foreign nationals left Wuhan, the British government said.
  • China's aviation authority sent two flights to bring back its tourists stranded in Thailand and Malaysia.
  • China will release winter and spring vegetable reserves in major northern cities to ease supply shortages amid the new coronavirus outbreak, state news agency Xinhua reported.
  • The Chinese Football Association said it would postpone domestic games in 2020.
  • The World Athletics Indoor Championships scheduled in the Chinese city of Nanjing in March have been postponed until 2021.
  • The coronavirus should have little impact on the US economy, President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser said.
  • Some experts believe the virus is not as dangerous as the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed nearly 800 people, or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has killed more than 700 people since 2012. — Reuters