Healthcare workers from across China have been called to Beijing where hospitals are being overwhelmed by a surge in new coronavirus infections.

There have reportedly been sharp increases in the numbers of new cases across the country since the government eased anti-virus restrictions on December 7.

The state-run China Central Television has reported that Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital has admitted about 400 urgent care cases in one day. The number is nearly quadruple the tally before the strict measures were eased.

It said most of the patients are elderly people with underlying disease conditions. They reportedly are complaining of severe symptoms, such as fever and cough.

Chinese media say that 162 doctors and other medical workers, including respiratory specialists, left Hunan Province for Beijing on Thursday. Reinforcements have also been sent from Shandong and Fujian provinces to the capital city.

Media reports say an ICU at a hospital in Beijing has been fully occupied with seriously-ill patients.

The Japanese government has announced that a Japanese man died in China after testing positive for the virus.

Sources say the man in his 40s was a Japanese expatriate stationed in the inland city of Chongqing, and that he was confirmed dead on Monday.