The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus has surpassed that of the 2003 SARS outbreak.

China's National Health Commission said as of the early hours of Wednesday, five-thousand-974 confirmed cases in 31 provinces have been reported, with the death toll standing at 132.

An additional one-thousand-459 cases and 26 deaths were reported from the previous day.

The latest virus is spreading faster than SARS, which infected five-thousand-300 people and caused 336 deaths in China.

One-thousand-239 out of five-thousand-974 patients in the country are in serious condition, with 103 discharged after a full recovery.

Another nine-thousand-239 are suspected patients and 59-thousand-990 are being monitored for coming into contact with confirmed patients.