Sj Desk
The deadly coronavirus is claiming lives with concerning speed as Sunday recorded the highest number of new deaths in a single day. 97 people died until midnight, increasing the total death toll in China to 908.
On Monday, health officials said that the number of total infected in the mainland soared to 40171.
The total number of deaths and infected has crossed the toll of the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic, which broke out in China.
WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “There’s been some concerning instances of the coronavirus spread (abroad) from people with no travel history to China. The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg”.
The novel virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan has made its way outside country borders as more than 300 cases have been reported globally in at least 25 countries.
Tedros, however, said that spread of coronavirus seems to be slow outside China but it could accelerate.
Outside China, 2 deaths have been reported -- one each in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
State media said on Monday that China has allocated 71.85 billion yuan (about 10.3 billion U.S. dollars) of fiscal funds to support the control of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The worst-hit central Chinese province reported 2,618 new cases of the NCP on February 9, with 91 new deaths and 356 recovered.
Apart from the crises at home, China is also battling international isolation as more and more countries are banning travellers from China -- both Chinese and foreigners. As the novel virus spreads beyond its country of origination, the resulting panic is leading to increased cases of racism. Uber and Lyft drivers and riders have reported discrimination faced by them for how they look.
