Situation in Wuhan grim: Xi

Death toll climbs to over 2,700; 78,000 infected

Beijing, February 26

President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that the situation in coronavirus-hit Wuhan city remained complex and grim despite the decline in the number of cases and risk of rebound cannot be overlooked, as the death toll climbed to 2,715 and confirmed cases rose to over 78,000.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said that 52 fatalities were reported on Tuesday, all from the worst-hit Hubei province and it’s capital Wuhan, the lowest in three weeks. The death toll on Wednesday climbed to 2,715 while the confirmed cases rose to 78,064, amidst strong signs of COVID-19 slowing down even at its epicentre Hubei and Wuhan, the NHC said.

Also 406 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection were reported from all over the country while another 439 new suspected cases came to light on Tuesday. The number of severe cases decreased by 374 to 8,752, it said. Overall 2,491 people were still suspected of being infected with the deadly virus. A total of 29,745 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery, it said.

Bruce Aylward, an epidemiologist who led an advance team from the World Health Organisation (WHO), told the media in Geneva on Tuesday that China had changed the course of COVID-19 outbreak, noting that the rapidly escalating outbreak has plateaued and come down faster than previously expected. Aylward said the unanimous assessment of the 25-member team which conducted a nine-day field study trip to Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hubei is that besides adopting a science-driven agile response, China followed a pragmatic approach which is “technology-powered and science-driven”. — PTI