Health authorities in Wuhan, Hubei province on Monday confirmed 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by a novel corona virus strain in the city, while Beijing and South China's Guangdong province reported a total of three cases on Monday as the contagious illness is widening beyond Wuhan in China.

Zhejiang province in East China also said on Monday it had detected five suspected cases in patients arriving in the region from Wuhan who had displayed respiratory conditions, including fever. Laboratory tests are underway to verify diagnoses.

The Wuhan Health Commission said it reported 59 new cases of the new corona virus on Saturday and 77 new cases on Sunday. Also, one patient with a new infection — who was diagnosed on Saturday and had been in critical condition — died on the same day, bringing the total death toll from the outbreak to three.

As of Sunday evening, Wuhan had confirmed a total of 198 cases of the new corona virus since the illness first emerged in late December, with 126 cases showing mild symptoms, 35 in severe condition and nine in critical condition. Twenty-five infected patients had been discharged from hospitals.

Health authorities in Beijing's Daxing district — a suburban area to the south of the country's capital — said on Monday it confirmed two cases of the novel corona virus. The two patients had both traveled to Wuhan recently.

The patients are in stable condition, it added.

The Health Commission of Guangdong province said on Monday that a male resident in its Shenzhen city was confirmed as contracting the virus on Sunday. The patient traveled to Wuhan to visit family members on Dec 29 and began feeling feverish and feeble on Jan 3.

The patient, 66, returned to Shenzhen on Jan 4 for treatment. On Jan 11, he was transferred to a designated facility for quarantined treatment. He was confirmed as contracting the disease by the National Health Commission, China's top health authority, on Sunday and is now in stable condition.

Authorities in Beijing and Guangdong province are now tracing people who have had close contacts with the infected patients.

In Wuhan, local health authorities said as of Sunday night, it had discontinued medical observation over 727 close contacts, and 90 people are still under medical observation. No relevant infections had been found.

Worldwide, Japan has reported one corona virus infection linked to the viral outbreak and Thailand has confirmed two infections.

Just several hours before the announcement of the spike in new cases, the National Health Commission said on Sunday evening that the disease outbreak is preventable and under control, but more research into the virus's source, its transmission mode and possible mutations is needed.

The Wuhan Health Commission also said at a news conference on Sunday that with the use of a newly-developed kit and the expansion of testing that enables better diagnosis of the new corona virus, the number of new cases will increase further.