Two cruise ships ordered into quarantine as virus death toll nears 500

A police officer wears a face mask and goggles at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, February 4, 2020. Picture taken February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Thousands of passengers and crew on two cruise ships in Asian waters were placed in quarantine on Wednesday, as the death toll from an outbreak of a fast-spreading coronavirus rose to nearly 500.

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, most in and around the locked-down central city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged late last year.