The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, is converting an additional eight buildings, including gymnasiums, exhibition centers and sports centers, into hospitals, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The latest announcement adds to plans revealed earlier this week to convert three other venues in the city into hospitals. Once all 11 buildings are converted, a process that is expected to be completed later on Wednesday, they will be able to accommodate 10,000 patients.

The death toll from the outbreak rose to nearly 500 today, China's National Health Commission said another 65 people had died as of Tuesday, a new daily record taking the toll on the mainland to 490.