Photo grab from Xinhua video shows the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. The first case of novel coronavirus infection was identified in Wuhan. (Xinhua)

China's health authorities have for the first time confirmed cases of the mysterious coronavirus outside of Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, where the virus was first detected. The confirmations came amid China's Spring Festival travel rush, and they are likely to have an impact on the seasonal activities.

The novel virus, initially diagnosed in Wuhan, has been found to have spread to more cities in the country including Beijing. By 6pm (Beijing time) on Monday, there had been 217 confirmed cases domestically. 

The outbreak comes as China is in the middle of its annual Spring Festival travel rush. Between January 10 and February 18, a total of 3 billion trips are expected to be made, including homebound trips and other types of travel, according to an estimate from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

People have been expressing concern online about how the peak travel season may affect the spread of the coronavirus. 

Some said they have canceled plans that would involve close interaction with crowds, including cinema trips, visiting relatives and traveling abroad.

"Visiting relatives during the Spring Festival is a must in China, and it is considered socially unacceptable to avoid this. But I fear it could speed up the spread of the virus," a Weibo user in Tianjin told the Global Times.

"I bought a movie ticket for Friday. It is non-refundable but I think it might be a good idea not to go," another user wrote on Weibo.

According to Wang Yuedan, a doctor at the Peking University Health Science Center, large-scale migrations might facilitate the spread of diseases associated with the respiratory tract. However, Wang also noted that based on the current confirmed cases of the virus and the deployment of proactive measures, the impact of the travel rush on the virus' spread is "under control."