China coronavirus toll mounts to 908

The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak on Monday mounted to 908, according to National Health Commission of the country.

The number of people infected from the virus has now reached 40, 171 in the country.

"As of 24:00 on Feb 9, the National Health Commission had received 40,171 reports of confirmed cases (reduced by 87 by Hubei province, 1 by Jiangxi province, and 1 by Gansu province after verification) and 908 deaths in 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and in all 3,281 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital," said the commission in a statement.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China's Wuhan city in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries.

On Sunday, the new coronavirus even surpassed the fatalities caused by the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global health emergency in the wake of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, WHO's international expert mission led by Bruce Aylward has embarked on a visit to China.