Li Gang, director and chief physician of the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, answers questions during a press briefing in central China's city of Wuhan, Jan 19, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING/SEOUL - Wuhan confirmed the third death in a coronavirus-related pneumonia outbreak while Beijing and Shenzhen reported spread of the infection.

China's National Health Commission said it has activated the nationwide daily report mechanism

Also on Monday, South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus that has broken out in China, South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. The patient is a 35-year-old Chinese woman who flew from Wuhan, China to Incheon international airport on Sunday. She was isolated upon entry into the country due to symptoms such as high fever, KCDC said in a statement.

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. All three patients had traveled to the central Chinese city of Wuhan recently.
The Beijing patients currently have fever but no respiratory symptoms. The patient in Shenzhen is a 66 year-old man who developed symptoms such as fever and fatigue on Jan 3. Eight people who were in close contact with the patient in Shenzhen and 44 in Beijing are currently under close medical observation.

China's eastern province of Zhejiang on Monday reported that five patients are in quarantine for respiratory illness but the diagnosis is not confirmed yet. The province has found five people traveling from Wuhan with respiratory symptoms since Jan 17, Zhejiang province's health commission said in a statement on its website, adding that the patients are in stable condition and their close contacts have been placed under medical observation.

In the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first case was reported, 136 new cases emerged between Jan 18 and Jan 19, according to a statement from local health authorities early Monday

In Wuhan, where the first case was reported, 136 new cases emerged between Jan 18 and Jan 19, according to a statement from local health authorities early Monday.

Among the newly-infected patients in Wuhan, 66 are male and 70 are female, aged between 25 and 89. Thirty-six are in severe or critical condition and of them, one patient died on Jan 18, the third such death reported in the city.

READ MORE: China's Wuhan reports 17 new pneumonia cases

These patients showed symptoms such as fever, cough, chest distress or dyspnea before Jan 18, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.

As of 10:00 pm on Jan 19, 198 cases of novel coronavirus infections had been reported in Wuhan. In 25 of the cases, patients have been cured and discharged from the hospital.

About 170 patients are still receiving treatment in isolation in hospitals across the city. Of them, 126 are mildly infected and 44 are in severe or critical condition.

The city placed 817 people who came in close contact with the patients under medical observation, of whom 727 have been released. Among the close contacts, no infection was found.

Preventive measures  
More Chinese cities have stepped up monitoring, prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases.

Medical institutions across the country are paying close attention to the progression of the disease as the Spring Festival travel rush, dubbed as "the largest human migration," is currently under way. 

The National Health Commission said it has activated the nationwide daily report mechanism and supplied nucleic acid testing kits to intensify surveillance.

It said extra attention will be paid to the epidemic situation during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Shanghai has increased manpower in pre-examination triage and fever clinics to enhance the monitoring, screening, diagnosis and treatment of suspected cases.

Guangdong has intensified surveillance at open fairs and in monitoring and following up on suspected cases, while Wuhan has finetuned monitoring procedures and testing speed with a new diagnosis and treatment plan.

Outside China, other than in S. Korea, two cases have been reported in Thailand and one in Japan, all involving people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city. In South Korea, the KCDC raised its infection alert level from "attention" to "caution" following the first confirmed case of the virus and will expand monitoring. South Korean city and provincial governments will operate an emergency quarantine system around the clock, including during the Lunar New Year holiday which begins later this week.

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The new virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that started in China.

Some experts say the new virus may not be as deadly as SARS, but there is still little known about it including its origin and how easily it can be transmitted between humans.

With inputs from agencies