WUHAN, China: A 62-year-old doctor has expired in China’s Central Hospital of Wuhan city after treating coronavirus patients, which has climbed the death toll to 41.

According to reports, 39 people died in central Hubei province, one in north Hebei province while one in northeast Heilongjiang province, bordering Russia and some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Wuhan.

Chinese health authorities announced that 1,287 confirmed cases of coronavirus including 237 in critical conditions, had been reported in the country on Jan 24.

Also Read: China seals off more cities as virus toll rises

Cases have been reported in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, US, Taiwan and Japan too.

In an unprecedented quarantine initiative, China has sealed millions of residents near the epicenter of a virus outbreak, shutting down public transport in an eighth city as the death toll from the disease rose to 26.

Hubei’s Wuhan city is known as the hub of the outbreak.

While the World Health Organization avoided announcing a global emergency following confirmed cases in half a dozen other countries, China extended a lockdown now affecting some 26 million people and cancelled some celebrations of the Lunar New Year to prevent further spread of the disease.

On Jan 23, the National Institute of Health (Pakistan) had issued an advisory on Pneumonia outbreak due to novel coronavirus in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

The objective of the advisory was to alert and sensitize the health staff at border posts as well as in healthcare institutions of Pakistan to stay vigilant about any suspected cases coming from affected areas for an early detection.

A recent surge of pneumonia cases, associated with the novel coronavirus, have been reported in China.