WHO: More than 14K coronavirus cases worldwide, none in new nations

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- No new countries have reported confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the World Health Organization reports, a sign the outbreak may be slowing for now.

In its latest "situation report" -- released Monday -- the WHO says that there are 14,557 of the virus, known as 2019 n-CoV, globally, with 14,411 of those in China.

Through Sunday, there were 146 cases in 23 other countries, all of which have involved people who have traveled to Hubei province, ground zero for the outbreak, or those who have had close contact with travelers to the region.

So far, the WHO reports, 305 people have died from the virus worldwide, 304 of them in China.

The vast majority of confirmed cases of 2019 n-CoV, 9,074, are in Hubei province. The next highest amount, 661, have been confirmed in Zhejiang, a coastal region in eastern China.

Among other countries, Japan has the most confirmed cases, with 20, followed by Thailand, 19, and Singapore 18.

The WHO says there have been 12 confirmed cases in North America, with eight in the U.S. and four in Canada, but reports Monday indicated that there may be as many as 11 confirmed cases in the United States.

The latest figures highlight the fact that China in general, and Hubei specifically, remain the epicenter of the outbreak. As a result, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the government has plans to evacuate, and likely quarantine, more American citizens from the region, which has been under lockdown for the last week.

Pompeo said the there will a "handful" of flights to Hubei to bring U.S. citizens home.

Last week, the State Department chartered a plane to return 195 Americans stateside. Those citizens remain in quarantine at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, as clinicians from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor their health.