Vietnam has put 10,000 people in quarantine after six cases were found in villages north of Hanoi. [Source: BBC]

Coronavirus cases are not rising dramatically outside China despite a spike in Hubei province, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

The only exception was on a cruise liner docked in Japan, where 44 new cases were reported, bringing the total there to 218.

There was also no major shift in the coronavirus’s pattern of mortality or severity, according to the WHO.

Hubei recorded 242 deaths on Wednesday, the deadliest day of the outbreak.

There was also a huge increase in cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed but most of this was down to Hubei using a broader definition to diagnose people, said Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies programme.

“This does not represent a significant change in the trajectory of the outbreak,” he said.