Death toll from China virus crossed 2,000 mark

The death
toll from the coronavirus epidemic in China crossed the 2,000-mark on Wednesday
with the death of 136 more people, while the overall confirmed cases climbed to
74,185, authorities said.

The National
Health Commission said in its daily report that 2,004 people had died of the
disease known as COVID-19. NHC said 1,749 new cases of novel coronavirus
infection have been confirmed.

Of the new
deaths, 132 were reported from the worst-hit Hubei Province and one each from
Heilongjiang, Shandong, Guangdong and Guizhou.

Another
1,185 new suspected cases have been reported. On Tuesday, 236 patients became
seriously ill, while 1,824 people were discharged from hospital after recovery.

The
commission added that 11,977 patients remained in severe condition, and 5,248
people were suspected of being infected with the virus, the state-run Xinhua
news agency reported.

By Tuesday,
62 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in Hong Kong, 10
confirmed cases in Macao and 22 in Taiwan including one death.

China’s daily number of newly recovered novel coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new confirmed infections for the first time, according to NHC.

So far,
14,376 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from
hospital after recovery, NHC said.

On Tuesday,
Dr Liu Zhiming, president of Wuhan Wuchang Hospital in Hubei, died of the novel
coronavirus pneumonia highlighting the risks posed by virus to the medical
staff.