Death toll in China surpasses 630, more than 31,000 confirmed cases
Kathmandu, February 7
Chinese health officials on Friday announced that coronavirus related death toll in China reached 636 and the total number of confirmed cases rose to 31,161.
The New York Times quoted national health authorities saying on Friday morning that more than 70 new deaths and 3,100 new cases emerged nationwide in the previous 24 hours.
The new figures brought the total number of deaths in China to at least 636. And the total number of confirmed cases rose to 31,161.
As per the authorities, 69 of the newly reported deaths occurred in Hubei Province, the heart of the outbreak but there were also four deaths outside of the province: one each in Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan Provinces.
Likewise, deaths have also been reported in the Philippines, Hong Kong and other Chinese provinces. There are also more than 200 cases of infection outside China.
Meanwhile, Xinhua News reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud by phone on Thursday, discussing efforts to combat and control the novel coronavirus epidemic.
During their phone conversation, Xi said he deeply appreciates that King Salman and the Saudi side have repeatedly expressed their firm support to China at this critical moment when China is fighting the pneumonia epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus, which has fully demonstrated the sincere friendship and the high level of comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
On the other hand, the World Health Organization said on Thursday that it was working to strengthen global diagnostic capacity for the new virus, saying that efforts to control the disease’s spread depend critically on the ability to detect the pathogen quickly.
