The death toll from a new coronavirus in mainland China jumped by 73 to 563 on Thursday, its third-record daily rise.

Hubei province, the epicentre of the epidemic, reported 70 new deaths on Wednesday and 2,987 new confirmed cases. The other fatalities were in Tianjin city, the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and Guangzhou province in the southwest.

Hundreds of foreigners have been evacuated from the city and placed in quarantine centres around the world and thousands of passengers and crew were being confined to two cruise ships in Japan and Hong Kong.

Several countries, including the United States, have banned entry to visitors who have been in China over the previous two weeks.

Tens of millions of people in China’s Hubei province, the capital of which is Wuhan, have been living under virtual lockdown for nearly two weeks, with train stations and airports shut and roads sealed off.

Nearly 260 cases have been reported in 31 countries and regions outside mainland China