BEIJING, Jan. 27 -- The exit and entry department in central China's Hubei Province has suspended the services for the application of ordinary passports and exit-entry permits and endorsements for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to better control the spread of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

No passengers have left the Chinese mainland for the past four days via the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport or the Hankou port, according to a release from the National Immigration Administration (NIA).

The NIA said special channels will be opened for individuals who have to leave the mainland for urgent reasons.

By the end of Sunday, a total of 1,423 cumulative confirmed cases of new pneumonia had been reported in Hubei, with 76 deaths and 221 cases in severe condition. Forty-four patients have been discharged from hospital.