The death toll from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China rose to nearly 500 as of Tuesday night, in spite of the country's all-out efforts to contain the spread of the virus. 

According to China's National Health Commission, as of 12 a.m. Wednesday, the overall death toll for the country soared to 490, with 24-thousand-324 confirmed cases. 

The number of deaths and confirmed cases across the nation increased by 65 and three-thousand-887, respectively, in a day.  

It is the first time over 60 people died of the respiratory disease in one day for two straight days since the Chinese agency began compiling related data on January 20th. 

Of the latest figures, all 65 deaths were reported in Hubei province, where ground zero for the coronavirus, Wuhan, is located.