The death toll from China's coronavirus epidemic climbed past 1,100 on Wednesday but the number of new cases fell for a second straight day, raising hope the outbreak could peak later this month.

As Beijing scrambles to contain the outbreak, the number of people infected on a cruise ship off Japan's coast rose to 174 -- the biggest cluster outside the Chinese mainland.

A team of UK scientists believe they are among the first to start animal testing of a vaccine for the new coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 1,000 people and spread around the world.

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak surged past 1,000 in China on Tuesday as the World Health Organization warned that the epidemic poses a "very grave" global threat.

UPDATES China, Hong Kong, South Korea figures, total number of infections outside China

The head of the World Health Organization has warned that confirmed cases of coronavirus being transmitted by people who have never traveled to China could be the "tip of the iceberg".

The British government on Monday warned the outbreak of novel coronavirus was a "serious and imminent threat" and announced new measures to protect the public. 

Two hospitals have been designated as "isolation" facilities -- both are currently housing Britons who have returned from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak.

The death toll from China's coronavirus outbreak soared to 722 on Saturday, including the first foreign victim, as Hong Kong imposed a mandatory quarantine on mainland arrivals to block the spread of an epidemic that has caused global panic.

A US citizen has died from the new coronavirus at the epicentre of the epidemic in China, the US embassy said Saturday, in what appeared to be the first confirmed foreign death from the outbreak.

UPDATES Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan cruise ship

The United States on Friday offered up to $100 million to China and other impacted countries to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus.