The coronavirus situation in Wuhan in China is still severe and the city faces many challenges, Wuhan's vice party chief Hu Lishan said.
Wuhan, which is at the centre of the outbreak, has quarantined people in hotels, schools and private hospitals.
There are 132 such centres with 12,571 beds available, Mr Hu told a news conference
Earlier, state broadcaster CCTV reported that pregnant women infected with coronavirus may be able to pass it to their unborn child.
Doctors at the Wuhan Children Hospital said it was possible after an infected coronavirus patient gave birth on Sunday.
Her baby was tested 30 hours later and confirmed to have the virus, the broadcaster said.
490 people have died in China - most of them in Wuhan - with the total number of people infected at 24,363.
There are nearly 230 cases across 27 other countries and regions.
The World Health Organization is convening experts to set research and development priorities for coronavirus drugs, diagnostics and vaccines to combat the outbreak and has appealed for €613m in donations for a plan to fight the virus.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said its advice remains to avoid non-essential travel to China, with Irish citizens whose presence is "not essential" in China advised to leave the country.
Anyone returning to Ireland from China is asked to contact their local Public Health Department by email.
Those who have symptoms of coronavirus - including cough, fever, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing - within 14 days of their return are advised to isolate themselves.
They should also phone their GP, emergency department, or student health centre for advice, rather than turning up in person.
Read More:
WHO convening experts to set coronavirus research agenda
China admits 'shortcomings' in virus response
Dept says Irish citizens should consider leaving China
Meanwhile, around 3,700 people are facing at least two weeks on a cruise liner anchored off Japan after health officials confirmed that ten people on the ship had tested positive for coronavirus and more cases were possible.
While the infected patients were transferred by Japan's coast guard to hospitals on the mainland, the remainder of the passengers and crew on board the Carnival Corp ship were placed in quarantine and given health screenings.
Only 31 results of 273 tests have been received so far, revealing the ten confirmed cases.
The quarantine decision meant that passengers on Carnival's Diamond Princess, which had arrived in Yokohama on Monday after a 14-day round trip, will now spend another two weeks on the ship off Yokohama port near Tokyo.
Passengers on the ship took to social media to detail their predicament, posting photos of officials in masks and gowns conducting health checks, room service meals, empty corridors, and a barren deck.
British passenger David Abel said all passengers were confined to their cabins this morning, with staff delivering food room-by-room.
"The challenging situation for me is that I'm an insulin dependent diabetic," Mr Abel said in a video taken in his cabin and posted to his Facebook page, adding that regular and timed food intake was a key part of managing his condition.
"We don't have a choice in what we can eat, the announcement recently was that they're starting on the bottom deck and working their way up - I'm on the ninth deck."
"This is not a good situation for me as a diabetic and I'm certain that there are many, many more diabetics on the ship."
An eyewitness account from passenger David Abel who is quarantined for 2 weeks on board the Carnival Diamond Princess ship, off the coast of Yokohama near Tokyo, after ten passengers test positive for coronavirus. | https://t.co/RhLKQfYILh pic.twitter.com/G9suV1qO1p
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 5, 2020
A 43-year-old Hong Kong resident on the ship with six family members, including his wife and son, said they had gotten coffee and water but no food.
They were hungry but had snacks of their own, he said.
"I am not looking forward to the range of emotions in the next two weeks," he told Reuters from his family's windowless room.
"Will deal as they come."
The man, who declined to be named, said he, his wife and son had been tested for the virus, since he had a cold on the ship and had seen the doctor, but none of them had been diagnosed with it, although he wondered if the virus would show up later.
Another passenger, using the handle @daxa_tw, tweeted that he was "hearing from many sides that people are troubled and uneasy."
The cruise ship was caught up in the global coronavirus epidemic after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man, who joined for part of the 14-day cruise, tested positive for the virus after disembarking in Hong Kong on 25 January.
The man had joined a shore excursion in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, on 22 January, local media reported.
Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said officials would continue to monitor the remaining passengers and crew for the potential development of symptoms, suggesting that more test samples could be taken.
None of the ten infected people - three each from Japan and Hong Kong, two Australians, one American and one Filipino crew member - had severe symptoms, public broadcaster NHK reported.
In an effort to soothe quarantined passengers, Carnival's Princess Cruises said they would receive free internet and telephone services "in order to stay in contact with their family and loved ones, and the ship's crew is working to keep all guests comfortable."
The ship would go out to sea to perform "normal marine operations", it added, including the production of fresh water, before receiving food and other supplies from Yokohama.
Carnival said that passengers trapped on the Diamond Princess would receive both a full refund and a future cruise credit.
It cancelled another two cruises that had been scheduled for the same ship to leave Yokohama on 4 February and 12 February.
Not all passengers were overly concerned about the major change to the itinerary. American Ashley Rhodes-Courter posted a text message exchange on Instagram with her parents, Gay and Phil Courter, who are on board the ship.
The couple joked that "the food is great, the staff is in good spirits and we're all in the same boat ... Plus they have not run out of some great pinot noir."
Six-month-old baby among those infected in Singapore
Singapore's health ministry has confirmed four more coronavirus cases, including a six-month-old baby, taking its tally to 28.
Both parents of the infant, a Singapore citizen, have also been infected, the ministry said.
Singapore yesterday reported its first cases of citizens and residents who had contracted the virus without recent travel to China.
