New Delhi, Feb 15: The coronavirus death toll has crossed 1,500 in mainland China on Saturday after 143 more people died in the country, according to official data.

As many as 2,641 new cases of were reported with the vast majority in hard-hit central Hubei province, the National Health Commission reported.

There are more than 66,000 confirmed cases across China.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has deployed a team to the country to investigate the coronavirus outbreak.

The virus is believed to have emerged last year in an animal meat market in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak.