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Medical staff members in protective clothing at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital. — Picture by AFP[/caption]
SHAH ALAM, Jan 30 — China has recorded an additional 1,737 confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 7,771 on Thursday morning, including the first confirmed case in Tibet, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported today.
According to local health authorities, the epidemic’s death toll had also continued to soar by 38 since Wednesday, bringing it to a total 170 in China.
“The suspected case in Tibet has been confirmed, meaning the virus has spread to all of mainland China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
“The 38 new deaths included 37 in Hubei, with the other coming in Sichuan province in the southwest,” SCMP reported today.
The latest number of infections in China is nearing the total of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) global infection in 2003, which recorded a total 8,096 cases in 29 countries.
Meanwhile, the SCMP reported that the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be meeting today to again consider declaring a global public health emergency following the “deeply concerning” new coronavirus cases.
The United Nations health agency had said last week that it was “too early” to announce a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) over the outbreak, citing lack of evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China.
However, WHO’s health emergencies programme executive director Michael Ryan said there had since been at least six cases where the infected individual had not travelled to China.
Chineses authorities were reported to have said that most of the patients who have died were said to be older than 60 and had pre-existing conditions.
Chinese medical experts said the coronavirus can be passed through air transmission as well as between humans through close contact.
According to WHO, coronavirus, which was identified as a new virus by Chinese authorities on January 7, is a family of viruses that include the common cold and causes respiratory illness.
