China virus death toll reaches 1,110; world warned of ‘very grave threat’

Coronavirus is believed to have emerged last year in a market that sells wild animals in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak.

The number of fatalities from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,110 nationwide on Wednesday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 94 new deaths. In its daily update, Hubei’s health commission also confirmed another 1,638 new cases in the central province, where the outbreak emerged in December. There are now more than 44,200 confirmed cases across China, based on previously released figures from the government.

The new virus is believed to have emerged last year in a market that sells wild animals in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak. The virus was officially named “COVID-19” at a conference in Geneva held by the World Health Organization, where the body’s chief said countries had a chance of stopping its global spread. WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that although 99 percent of cases are in China, where it remains “very much an emergency,” it also “holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world.” He urged countries to share data in order to further research the disease.

Chinese authorities dismissed two senior health officials from Hubei on Tuesday, where tens of millions of people have been under lockdown since late last month, and tightened restrictions in its capital Wuhan.

Over 1000 dead in mainland China, 2,097 new confirmed Coronavirus cases

According to the SCMP report, the virus has spread to at least 24 countries, sickened more than 42,000 people worldwide

The Health Authorities in China’s Hubei province on Tuesday (local time) reported 103 more deaths and 2,097 newly confirmed cases of Coronavirus, reported South China Morning Post. With this, the death toll in the epicentre of the outbreak Hubei has risen to 974, while the total number of deaths in mainland China has reached 1,011, according to CNN. One person in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines has died due to the virus.

According to the SCMP report, the virus has spread to at least 24 countries, sickened more than 42,000 people worldwide. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday appeared before the public for the first time since the coronavirus epidemic started and said the government would prevent large-scale layoffs amid the outbreak.

Jinping inspected efforts by community workers in Beijing to contain the virus, visited a local hospital that offers treatment to coronavirus patients and video-chatted with frontline medical staff in Wuhan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.