Global coronavirus death toll crosses 3,000 with 42 more people dying in China

The number
of deaths globally in the new coronavirus outbreak passed 3,000 on Monday, as
China reported 42 more deaths.

The new causalities
were all in the virus epicentre Hubei province, the National Health Commission
said, bringing the overall toll in mainland China to 2,912. Health officials
also reported the lowest daily tally of fresh infections since late January,
with 202 new cases.

In China,
the number of reported new cases has gradually been declining and there were
only six confirmed new infections outside Hubei.

The virus
emerged late last year in Hubei in central China, but has now spread to more
than 60 countries around the world.

The United
States and Australia reported their first casualities over the weekend, while
infections nearly doubled in the past 48 hours in Italy, Europe’s hardest-hit
country.

The World
Health Organisation said Sunday that the virus appears to particularly hit
those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illness.

The agency
noted that most people with the COVID-19 illness only experience mild symptoms,
while around 14% suffer severe disease like pneumonia and five per cent become
critically ill.

It said the
mortality rate in the outbreak appears to be between two and five per cent.

The seasonal
flu has an average mortality rate of about 0.1 per cent but is highly
infectious, with up to 400,000 people worldwide dying from it each year.

Other
strains of coronavirus, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), have established mortality rates of
9.5% and 34.5%, respectively.