BEIJING, January 30. /TASS/. China’s financial agencies at all levels have allocated a total of 27.3 billion yuan (about $3.96 billion) to fight the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus in the country, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

"Financial agencies at all levels actively support efforts to prevent and counter the outbreak," the ministry said in a statement. "As of 17:00 local time [noon Moscow time] of January 29, a total of 27.3 billion yuan has already been allocated at all levels."

According to latest reports, the number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in China has reached 7,711. A total of 170 people have died.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent: coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

Apart from China, the infection was registered in 16 other countries. The WHO recognized the pneumonia outbreak in China as a national emergency but stopped short of declaring an international one.