BEIJING — The number of confirmed deaths from China's coronavirus outbreak rose to 304, as authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province on Sunday (Feb 2) reported 45 new fatalities.

In its daily update, figures from the provincial health commission also showed a sharp increase in confirmed infections in Hubei, with 1,921 new cases.

Hubei's provincial capital of Wuhan, where the virus is thought to have originated, reported 32 new deaths. A total of 224 people in Wuhan have now died from the virus, for which there is no vaccine.

The number of infections in China's coronavirus outbreak has passed 14,300 nationwide with 2,590 new cases confirmed, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

Hubei has been under virtual quarantine for the last week, with roads sealed off and public transport shut down. Elsewhere, China has placed growing restrictions on travel and business.

The province extended its Lunar New Year holiday break to Feb 13 in a bid to contain the outbreak.

But the province is not totally sealed. People are leaving Hubei on foot over a bridge spanning the Yangtze river, entering Jiujiang city in neighbouring Jiangxi province.

Lu Yuejin, a 50-year-old farmer from a village on the Hubei side of the bridge, was trying to gain passage for her leukaemia-stricken daughter on Saturday.

"Please, take my daughter. I don't need to go past... please, just let my daughter go past," Ms Lu pleaded with the police.

Her cries for help were almost drowned out by a loudspeaker playing a pre-recorded message that residents would not be allowed past to Jiujiang.

Eventually, Ms Lu and her daughter were both allowed through and an ambulance was called to pick them up.

Cases of infections have spread beyond the province as Chinese people travelled across the country and the world for the Lunar New Year holiday that started last week.

China found itself increasingly isolated over the weekend, with the United States and Australia leading a growing list of nations to impose extraordinary Chinese travel bans.

The epidemic has ballooned into a global health emergency with cases in more than 20 countries. AGENCIES