Coronavirus: Death toll crosses 3,000 in China; more than 1 lakh cases globally

Beijing, March 7

China has reported 28 new fatalities from the deadly coronavirus outbreak, taking the death toll in the country to 3,070, Chinese health officials said on Saturday as the rapid spread of the epidemic hit a milestone, infecting more than 100,000 people globally.

The virus that first emerged in China in December last year has spread to 97 countries and has infected 102,180 people, including 80,651 in China, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus tracker.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Saturday said it received reports of 99 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 28 deaths on Friday on the Chinese mainland.

The 28 deaths were all reported in the virus epicentre Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan, the NHC said.

Meanwhile, 99 new suspected cases were reported, it said, a significant milestone in China’s over two-month-long fight against the dreaded virus as the cases have for the first time dropped below 100.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland have reached 80,651 by the end of Friday. This included 3,070 people who had died of the virus, 22,177 patients still undergoing treatment and 55,404 others who were discharged after recovery, the NHC said.

Also on Friday, 24 imported cases (people coming to China from abroad) of the novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland, including 17 in Gansu Province, three in Beijing, three in Shanghai and one in Guangdong Province. By the end of Friday, 60 imported cases were reported, the NHC said.

By the end of Friday, 107 confirmed cases, including two deaths have been reported in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 45 in Taiwan, including one death have been reported.

While the cases of the COVID-19 in China are on the decline, about 19,700 more cases were reported globally taking the overall total of the cases, including from China to over a lakh, state-run CGTN reported.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that additional five countries — the Philippines, New Zealand, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia — have seen local transmission of the COVID-19. PTI