KUALA LUMPUR - The United Arab Emirates reported the first cases of the novel coronavirus in the Middle East on Wednesday.

The disease was diagnosed in a four-member Chinese family that had arrived from Wuhan, in central China's Hubei province, state-run WAM news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

“All family members are in a stable condition and the situation was contained by following the most necessary precautionary measures adopted globally when dealing with infected cases,” it said.

Malaysia now have seven confirmed cases, all of whom are Chinese citizens, the health ministry said

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Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s health ministry said three more people had been infected with the virus, taking the total to seven, all of whom are Chinese citizens.

The new cases involved a 4-year-old girl, a 52-year-old man and the mother of two children confirmed infected earlier, the ministry said in a statement.

Authorities said the mother had initially tested negative and had stayed in Malaysia to take care of her children - grandsons of a 66-year-old man who tested positive in Singapore for the coronavirus last week.

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Separately, Malaysia’s communications regulator said it has detained one person accused of spreading fake news on the coronavirus.

The person was arrested over a Facebook post that contained false information on the outbreak, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said.

The newly identified coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has created alarm because it is spreading quickly and much about it is still unknown.

China’s National Health Commission said the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in the country had risen to 132 as of end-Tuesday, with a total of 5,974 cases confirmed.