An official uses an infrared thermometer on a passenger at a health screening checkpoint at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, Hubei province. (EMILY WANG / AP)

BEIJING - Temperature screening checkpoints have been set up in 387 Chinese railway stations by Saturday morning as local railway authority strengthened prevention measures to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The new coronavirus pneumonia first broke out in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, and then spread across the country

Passengers entering and exiting from these railway stations must take temperature checks, according to sources with the China State Railway Co Ltd (China Railway).

By 8:00 am on Saturday, China Railway has also closed down, in collaboration with relevant local governments, the outbound channels at 72 railway stations in Central China's Hubei province.

The new coronavirus pneumonia first broke out in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, and then spread across the country. By the end of Friday, a total of 41 people had died and 1,287 cases had been confirmed in 30 provincial-level regions.

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Sources with the China Railway said that the transport of epidemic prevention materials has been prioritized. On Friday alone, about 170 batches of epidemic control materials weighing 48.5 tonnes were transported.

By 6:00 pm Friday, a total of 257 batches of epidemic control materials weighing 82.2 tonnes including masks, gloves, medicines and medical apparatus had been transported.

Saturday is the first day of the Chinese lunar New Year and the 16th day of the Spring Festival travel rush. About 2.6 million railway trips were expected to be made on Saturday, down 38.4 percent from the same day of last year.