Coronavirus death toll in China climbs to 2,004

shaheennews

The China’s National Health Commission, on Wednesday, announced it had received 74,185 reports of confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,004 deaths in 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland.

Some 14,376 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital, the commission said, adding “there are still 57,805 confirmed cases, including 11,977 in serious condition,” the commission added.

The Chinese authorities, last December, had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of a cluster of cases of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus in Wuhan city, the center of Hubei Province, and since then the virus has spread to many countries.

WHO has received reports of 694 cases from 25 countries, and three deaths, the organization said on its website.

In the same context, scientists have revealed that the deadly coronavirus, rapidly sweeping the world, kills up to 15 per cent of patients over the age of 80.

Chinese health officials carried out the biggest ever study on the never-before-seen strain of the virus, using data from 72,000 cases, where results showed the coronavirus posed the greatest threat to older patients and those with underlying conditions, such as cancer and heart disease.

Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention researchers also found 80.9 percent of infections are mild, while less than five percent are critical.

A separate group of virologists studying the coronavirus have also claimed it is up to 20 times more infectious than SARS.

//Petra//