Stock markets in China will be shut remain until next Monday after authorities extended the Lunar New Year break by three days in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic.

Stocks and futures trading, as well as interbank markets for bonds and currencies, will resume on February 3, according to reports.

While onshore markets will be closed all week, traders are finding ways to sell the Chinese markets and stocks.

Futures on the FTSE China 50 Index sank as much as 5.9 per cent in Singapore on Monday, and extended declines in after-hours trading. The offshore yuan fell 0.8 per cent, trading weaker than its averages.

In a similar health scare in 2003, during the outbreak of SARS, officials extended a May Day holiday market closure by four trading days.

China's stock market, the world's second largest, last saw trading on January 12, when the Shanghai benchmark tumbled 2.8 per cent in the worst eve to a Lunar Year in its history.

Shanghai authorities have separately advised that companies shouldn't start work until at least February 9.

The death toll from the coronavirus has risen to at least 80 in China, with confirmed cases reaching 2,744.

China is struggling to cope with the crisis despite placing curbs on movement in some cities. In the epicentre of Wuhan, 5 million people left the city before the lockdown, according to reports.