Beijing: China on Sunday reported 35 more deaths from the new coronavirus, taking the toll in the country to 2,870. The number is lower than the 47 fatalities reported by Chinese authorities on Saturday.
The National Health Commission also reported 573 new infections, bringing the total number of cases in mainland China to 79,824. While still in the hundreds, the figure for new infections is far lower than the huge, daily increase in cases China was recording in January and February. All but one of the 35 deaths were in Hubei province, whose capital Wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak.
The new coronavirus, which has killed nearly 3,000 people and infected more than 86,000 in dozens of countries, is believed to have first emerged late last year in a Wuhan market that sold wild animals.
Over 1,300 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed outside China in the past 24 hours taking the number of those infected with the virus outside the Asian nation to 6009, announced the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday. Of the 6009 cases outside China, 1318 are new cases of COVID-19, the WHO situation report (with data reported by 10 am on February 29) said.
There have been a total of 86 deaths from the coronavirus disease outside of China, 19 of them occurred in the past 24 hours. According to the situation report, Mexico and San Marino reported their first coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. A total of 53 countries, apart from China, have been affected. Over 85,400 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed globally.
