Maltapost has been forced to stop the transfer of mail to China with immediate effect due to the suspension of flights to the country.

Flights to China have been suspended by many airlines as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. 

The company said in a brief statement that the transfer of mail to China has been suspended until further notice.

Nearly 1,900 people have now died and more than 72,000 others infected by the virus in China, with hundreds more cases in some 25 countries.

The situation remains dire at the epicentre, with the director of a hospital in the central city of Wuhan becoming the seventh medical worker to succumb to the COVID-19 illness.

But Chinese officials released a study showing most patients have mild cases of the illness, and World Health Organisation officials said the mortality rate was relatively low.

The outbreak is threatening to put a dent in the global economy, with China paralysed by vast quarantine measures and major firms such as iPhone maker Apple and mining giant BHP warning it could damage bottom lines.

Several countries have banned travellers from China and major airlines have suspended flights.

Authorities have placed about 56 million people in hard-hit central Hubei and its capital Wuhan under an unprecedented lockdown.

Other cities far from the epicentre have restricted the movements of residents, with a 14-day self-quarantine for people returning to Beijing.