The Philippines has reported the first death from the coronavirus outside China, adding to fears about the spread of the virus as more countries imposed travel restrictions.

The outbreak of the respiratory illness has killed 304 people in China since it was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year. Across China, there were 2,590 new confirmed infections on Saturday, bringing the total to 14,380, China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday. A study published on Saturday by scientists from the University of Hong Kong found that the virus may have infected as many as 75,815 people in Wuhan.

The virus, which has been declared a global public health emergency, has caused at least 100 infections in more than 20 countries, with Britain, Russia and Sweden confirming their first infections over the weekend. Japan has recorded 20 cases, including those involving human-to-human transmission, while the US on Sunday reported its eighth case.

Japan on Saturday confirmed an additional three cases among evacuees from Wuhan, including one, a man in his 40s, who initially tested negative, the health ministry said.

The fatality in the Philippines is a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan who died in a hospital in Manila. He appears to have been infected before his arrival in the Philippines.

“This is the first reported death outside China,” Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the World Health Organisation representative to the Philippines, said. “However, we need to take into mind that this is not a locally acquired case. This patient came from the epicentre of this outbreak.”

The Philippine department of health said the man was admitted to hospital on 25 January with a fever, cough and sore throat. He developed severe pneumonia, but in the past few days, “the patient was stable and showed signs of improvement”, it said. However, his condition then deteriorated and he died within 24 hours.

The man was with a Chinese woman who also tested positive for the virus, health secretary Francisco Duque said. She was the Philippines’ first case of the virus and is recovering in a hospital isolation ward.

A passenger reads news about a new coronavirus outbreak during a train trip in Hong Kong. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

The news of the man’s death was released shortly after the Philippines announced it would immediately halt the arrivals of any foreign travellers from China, joining several other countries that have imposed similar bans in an attempt to contain the virus.

On Sunday, Indonesia also said it will temporarily stop flights to and from mainland China from Wednesday and bar visitors who have been in China for 14 days from entering or transiting.

Stricter border controls, along with the suspension of flights and business operations have sparked fears of a slowdown in China, the world’s second-biggest economy.

The US, Australia, Singapore and Israel have banned foreign nationals from visiting if they have been in China over the previous 14 days, and advised their own citizens not to travel there. Mongolia, Russia, and Nepal closed their land borders, while Papua New Guinea has banned anyone arriving from ports or airports across Asia. Other countries have imposed restrictions on people who have visited Hubei province in the past 14 days.

We don’t want to go on strike, but the government has been ignoring the demands of the frontline medical workers. Winnie Yu, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority Employees Alliance

Vietnam declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus epidemic on Saturday and said it would halt all flights to and from China. The government said it would also stop issuing visas for foreign visitors who had been in China in the past two weeks.

On Sunday, New Zealand said it would bar entry to all foreign nationals arriving from mainland China. The ministry of foreign affairs and trade also raised its travel advice to New Zealanders for all of mainland China to “Do not travel”, the highest level.

Confirmation of the first death outside China comes after thousands of Hong Kong medical workers voted to go on strike, calling for the government to close the border with mainland China. The financial hub had 13 confirmed cases of the disease as of Saturday, with 112 patients isolated.

More than 3,000 public hospital staff, including doctors and nurses, agreed to a week of phased strike action starting on Monday if the government failed to meet their demands.

Quick Guide What are coronavirus symptoms and should I go to a doctor? Show What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic. What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes? According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment. About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19. In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

a new continuous cough - this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough? Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

In China, cities began to implement more extreme restrictions on residents. In Huanggang – the second most affected city after Wuhan – authorities barred residents from leaving their homes. Families in the city, also in Hubei province, were to choose one person from their household to leave and buy food and other necessities. The city of Wenzhou in neighbouring Zhejiang province announced similar measures.

In Huanggang, six officials were fired over “poor performance” in handling the outbreak, the official Xinhua news agency reported. It cited the mayor as saying the city’s ability to treat patients remained inadequate and that there was a severe shortage of medical supplies such as protective suits and medical masks.

The situation across Hubei province remains “severe and complicated” and medical resources at county level are relatively weak, vice governor Xiao Juhua told a news conference on Sunday.

China’s military said it would send 1,400 medical personnel to Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak. The personnel will staff one of two new hospitals built in the past two weeks, scheduled to open on Monday.

Hundreds queue in Hong Kong to buy masks amid the coronavirus outbreak. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

China is facing increasing global isolation as dozens of airlines suspended flights. Some countries are still trying to evacuate hundreds of their citizens. On Sunday Australia backed down on plans to charge its evacuees $1,000 to be taken to quarantine on Christmas Island, while a plane repatriating 250 French and European nationals landed at a military airbase in Istres in southern France.

The Russian military will start evacuating Russian citizens on Monday, domestic media reports said.

In China itself, cities and villages are becoming ghost towns, with about 50 million people in Hubei province alone under lockdown and many more living under self-imposed quarantine.

In Hubei, roads have been sealed off and public transport shut down, and the province extended its Lunar New Year holiday break to 13 February. However, people are leaving Hubei on foot over a bridge spanning the Yangtze river.

Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report