With 89 more people dying – most in Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak in China – the virus toll is now higher than the 774 killed worldwide by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), according to official figures, AFP wrote.

The latest data came after the WHO said the last four days had seen “some stabilizing” in Hubei, but warned the figures can still “shoot up”.

Almost 37,200 people in China have now been infected by the virus, believed to have emerged late last year in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, where residents are struggling to get daily supplies because of sweeping transport restrictions and instructions to stay inside.

The epidemic has prompted the government to lock down whole cities.

With much of the country still not back at work after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, cities including financial hub Shanghai ordered residents to wear masks in public.

Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said the “stable period” of the outbreak “may reflect the impact of the control measures.”

While the death toll has climbed steadily, new cases have declined since Wednesday’s single-day peak of nearly 3,900 people nationwide.

On Sunday, the number of new cases was just over 2,600.

Government measures

Millions of people are under lockdown in Hubei in a bid to stop the virus spreading.

Wang Bin, from the ministry of commerce, said challenges included poor logistics, price increases, and labor shortages.

“It is difficult for the market supply to reach normal levels,” he admitted at a press conference Sunday.

In Hubei province, there are five days of guaranteed pork and egg supplies, and three days of vegetables, he said.

China drew international condemnation for covering up cases during the SARS outbreak, whereas the measures it has taken this time have been praised by the WHO.

But anger erupted on social media after the death of a Wuhan doctor who police silenced when he flagged the threat of an emerging virus in December.

The doctor, 34, died early Friday, after contracting the virus from a patient.

Beijing responded by sending its anti-graft body to launch an investigation, attempting to ease the anger.

Global fears

Wuhan has converted public buildings into makeshift medical centers and built two new field hospitals.

The first foreign victim in China was confirmed this week when an American diagnosed with the virus died in Wuhan.

The only fatalities outside the mainland have been a Chinese man in the Philippines and a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights.

Air China announced Saturday it would cancel some of its flights to the US including from Beijing to New York and Washington.

Sixty-four people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan’s coast have tested positive, with all passengers told to stay inside their cabins to prevent further infection.