A security personnel checks a passenger's temperature at a subway station in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on Jan. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

The five overseas personnel included one from Pakistan, two from Australia and two from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

South China's Guangdong Province had reported 272 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by Wednesday noon, including one from Pakistan, two from Australia and two from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Chen Zhusheng, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, told a press briefing that the five overseas persons, who all had exposure to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, are in stable condition.

One Pakistani student from a Wuhan university came to Shenzhen on Jan. 21 and Guangzhou on Jan. 24 and went to hospital after showing symptoms on Jan. 26, said Chen. Two Australians once traveled to Wuhan for sightseeing.

One Hong Kong resident, who works in Wuhan, came to Foshan on Jan. 22 and went to see doctor two days later. The other from Hong Kong, who once traveled to Hubei Province for sightseeing, went to hospital after feeling unwell in Zhanjiang on Jan. 26 and were confirmed of the novel coronavirus infection on Wednesday.

Chen said all confirmed cases in Guangdong are subject to equal treatment.

On Tuesday, the foreign affairs office of the Guangzhou municipal government released a coronavirus prevention guidance in four languages of English, Japanese, Korean and French.