The health commission for Hubei, the Chinese province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreak, said on Thursday that deaths in the province from the disease had risen by 37 to 162 as of the end of Wednesday.

There had been a further 1,032 cases detected in Hubei, taking the total to 4,586, it said.

Foreign governments have been flying their citizens out of the area, as the number of deaths jumped and the World Health Organization has voiced "grave concern" about person-to-person spread in three other countries.