Coronavirus outbreak: Global death toll passes 3,000 mark ⁰

China says it has recorded 42 new deaths from the new coronavirus afflicting the country and the world, bringing the total global death toll to over 3,000.

China’s National Health Commission also confirmed 202 new infections and 141 new suspected cases on Sunday.

All the new deaths took place inside Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak. And of the new confirmed cases, only six were outside Hubei.

The new figure brought the total number of the deaths inside China to 2,912.

A total of 44,462 patients had so far been discharged from hospital after recovery, according to the commission.

US records 2^nd death

Meanwhile, the United States confirmed its second death from the virus, known as COVID-19, in the Seattle area.

The victim, a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions, died on Saturday at an EvergreenHealth Hospital. The facility is the one in the Washington State where officials reported the country’s first death on Saturday.

Three other cases of infection were also confirmed in the US, all of whom were hospitalized at EvergreenHealth.

New York State also reported its first case of COVID-19 infection, and Florida declared a state of emergency to contain the outbreak.

As of Sunday night, 88 cases had been identified in the US.

While health officials have warned of the seriousness of the outbreak, President Donald Trump has attempted to downplay it. At a rally on Friday, he blamed the media and Democrats for hyping up the contagion.

The Trump administration has come under fire for the handling of the outbreak. Health experts say the administration is still sending mixed messages about a growing public health crisis.

“It undermines public trust,” said Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association. “This isn’t well-coordinated.”

South Korea cases surpass 4,000

South Korea, which has the highest number of infected people outside China, declared 476 new cases on Monday.

The sharp rise in the number of cases took the country’s tally to 4,212 on Monday.

The death toll also rose to 22, after four people died of the disease on Sunday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Indonesia reports two cases

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday that two Indonesian nationals had tested positive for the virus after coming into contact with an infected Japanese national.

President Widodo also said that the infected people were being treated at an infectious diseases hospital in the capital, Jakarta.

The two were the first confirmed cases in the world’s fourth most populous country, with a population of more than 260 million people.

The World Health Organization has said the virus appears to particularly hit those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illnesses.

Source: Presstv