China reports 406 new cases of coronavirus, deaths up by 52

Monitoring Desk

BEIJING: China on Wednesday reported 52 new coronavirus deaths, the lowest figure in more than three weeks, bringing the death toll to 2,715.

All the new deaths were in the outbreak epicentre Hubei province, which accounted for 401 of the 406 new infections reported Wednesday, the National Health Commission said.

The number of fresh cases has declined in China, with multiple provinces reporting zero new infections in recent days.

Only five cases were reported outside the epicentre, the lowest in over a month.

But the disease, which originated in Hubei s capital Wuhan late last year and has infected over 78,000 in China, has now reached dozens of countries.

South Korea s death toll rose to 11 on Wednesday, as the country s total number of infections rose to 1,146, by far the largest outside of China.

Italy — which has reported 10 deaths and more than 300 cases — has locked down 11 towns. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said the measures could last weeks.

While Beijing s containment efforts initially focused on monitoring and restricting travel within the country, concern is growing that cases abroad could reintroduce new outbreaks into China.

Meanwhile, China quarantined 94 air passengers arriving from Seoul after three people on the flight were discovered to have fevers, state media reported Wednesday.

The three passengers, all Chinese, arrived in the city of Nanjing on Tuesday morning and were discovered after customs personnel boarded the aircraft on landing to screen passengers for symptoms, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

The three were immediately sent by ambulance to a hospital for isolation and testing, while 94 people who had sat near them on the plane were sent to a hotel to be quarantined, CCTV said.

None of the three people with fevers had any history of travel to Wuhan, the city where the outbreak originated.

South Korea is among the countries that have reported a surge in cases in recent days even as the number of fresh cases declines at the epicentre of the disease in China.

Seoul reported the country s 11th death from the virus and 169 new infections Wednesday, taking its overall tally to 1,146 cases — by far the largest tally outside China.

Courtesy: (AFP)