Beijing, China: Death toll from the novel coronavirus has escalated to 800 in mainland China, Sunday. The death toll breaks the record of casualties from the SARS epidemic 2002-03, while the WHO said the epidemic seemed to be “stabilizing”.
According to the figures from national health authorities, as more 89 people dying, mostly in Hubei province which is believed to be the epicenter of the epidemic, the number of deaths is currently higher than the 774 killings all over the world by SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome almost two decades ago.
The latest information came following WHO statement four days ago that the virus is “stabilizing” in Hubei, however, cautioned that it was “very early to make any predictions”. Further, the figures can even “shoot up”.
The coronavirus which is believed to have emerged in December 2019, has affected more than 37,200 people in china. The virus originated in the Wuhan city of Hubei province, in a market where wild animals were sold, and spread across the nation and other countries afterward.
The virus forced the government to seal whole cities as the public was enraged on poor handling of crisis, which was further escalated by the death fo whistle-blowing doctor Li.
Factories closed in china due to the novel coronavirus (AFP).
As much of the region is not back to work after extended lunar new year holiday, cities like shanghai have directed citizens to wear the mask in public, and people of Hubei are not allowed to go out of their house except one person after every two days to purchase supply.
The head of WHO emergency program Michael Ryan said “the ‘stable period’ of the outbreak may reflect the impact of the control measures that have been put in place”
According to the US embassy, the first international affectee of the coronavirus is a 60-year-old American woman in Hubei province of China, Thursday.
A Japanese man with 60 years of age died in a city hospital, suspected to have coronavirus.
The only killing from coronavirus is reported in Hong Kong, a thirty-nine-year-old man and a Chinese man in the Philippines.
The novel coronavirus belongs to the same family of SARS virus, though the mortality rate is lower.
Approximately 2,650 people e have been discharged and cured of the coronavirus all over the country, according to official figures. More than 600 people were cured on Saturday.
Actions taken by China to curb the virus have been appreciated by the WHO; however, anger erupted on social media owing to Beijing’s approach to deal with the epidemic and demise of Dr. Li who was the first to warn that a virus is to merge in the mainland China.
Li Wenliang was an ophthalmologist in Wuhan and he observed symptoms similar to SARS pathogen in patients.
The doctor died on Friday, was 34 years old, in Wuhan’s central hospital. The news of his -demise was posted by the Wuhan hospital on Weibo, a twitter-like platform.
The government responded to the public rage by holding an investigation about Dr. Li’s death.
Hong Kong announced quarantine on people traveling to and from mainland China, as 299 people were killed by SARS in china’s southern financial center where 299 people died.
There has been a wave of panic-buying with 26 confirmed cases. Similar scenes were reported from Singapore where buyers cleared grocery store shelves while 33 cases were confirmed, and an alert was imposed.
WHO chief states that misinformation is making the work of healthcare workers harder.
He said, “We’re not just battling the virus, we’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response”.
Saturday, Hungarian police stated they had broken a “fake news” network that has circulated fake news of the spread of coronavirus in the city, which is till now, free of cases.
The world’s main oil importer china’s economy is affected by the novel coronavirus, and OPEC club of petroleum-producing regions has suggested reducing oil output.
Several countries have banned arrivals from china, and flight operation is stopped.
New cases have emerged internationally, as a child is tested positive for coronavirus in France and five British citizens.
The Asian cruise ships are the focal point, as well.
Sixty-four people traveling on the diamond princess to Japan’s coast have been diagnosed with coronavirus and instructed to stay in the cabins to prevent further infections.–Worldwide News