China cures over 500 of new coronavirus, records 361 deaths, over 17,000 confirmed cases

The Chinese government on Monday said its health commission has cured over 500 victims of the new coronavirus, recorded 361 deaths and has confirmed 17,341 cases, as the outbreak reaches about two months since its debut. An update on the CGTN website shows that the number of confirmed cases climbed to 17,341 in China alone […]

The Chinese government on Monday said its health commission has cured over 500 victims of the new coronavirus, recorded 361 deaths and has confirmed 17,341 cases, as the outbreak reaches about two months since its debut.

An update on the CGTN website shows that the number of confirmed cases climbed to 17,341 in China alone and 153 abroad as of Monday, including 361 deaths in China and one abroad.

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It stated that over 500 people have been released from hospitals after being cured, data released by the health commission showed.

The commission noted that the number of confirmed infections in the China’s Hong Kong (14) and Macao (7) special administrative regions and Taiwan province (10) had risen to 31 in total.

A total of 137,594 people that have had close contact with infected patients are still under medical observation, while 8,044 such people were released from observation on Feb 1.

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It will be recalled that the pneumonia outbreak was first reported in the city of Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province in December last year.

Health experts in China have attributed the outbreak to a novel coronavirus that has since spread across China and abroad and warned of the risk of reinfection for the recovered.

They’ve also confirmed human-to-human transmission, just as the health commission activated Level 1 emergency response in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland.

No need to halt travel to beat coronavirus – WHO chief

Meanwhile, a World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Monday said there was no need for measures that “unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade” in trying to halt the spread of novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

“We call on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based and consistent,” he told the WHO Executive Board, reiterating his earlier message.

“Our global consecutiveness is a weakness in this outbreak but it is also our greater strength,” Tedros added.