Coronavirus death toll rises to 9, 440 confirmed cases | IOL News

Beijing - The death toll from a new flu-like coronavirus in China rose to nine on Wednesday with 440 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said as authorities stepped up efforts to control the outbreak by discouraging public gatherings in Hubei province.

Another 2 197 people who came into contact with infected people were isolated, with 765 so far released from observation, National Health Commission vice-minister Li Bin told reporters, adding that there was already evidence that the virus was being spread through "respiratory transmission". "Recently there has been a big change in the number of cases, which is related to our deepening our understanding of the disease, improving diagnostic methods and optimising the distribution of diagnostic kits," Li said.

As China vowed to tighten containment measures in hospitals, the World Health Organization was due to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak of the new coronavirus constitutes a global health emergency. The virus, originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei at the end of last year, has spread to Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Macau, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

China confirms human-to-human transmission of coronavirus, 223 diagnosed globally | IOL NewsAuthorities in China confirmed that a new virus could be spread through human contact, reporting 15 medical staff had been infected. Am I the only one seeing this as payback for all our Rhinos?
Source: IOL - 🏆 46. / 51 Read more »

US reports first case of new coronavirus from China | IOL NewsThe US on Tuesday reported its first case of a new and potentially deadly virus circulating in China, saying a Washington state resident who returned last week from the outbreak's epicenter was hospitalized near Seattle.
Source: IOL - 🏆 46. / 51 Read more »

North Korea closes border to foreign tourists over coronavirus fears | IOL NewsNorth Korea has reportedly temporarily closed its border to all foreign tourists in response to a new type of coronavirus discovered in central China.
Source: IOL - 🏆 46. / 51 Read more »

NICD urges S.Africans not to panic as Coronavirus spreads in AsiaIn their latest update, officials confirmed the new strain of coronavirus had infected 291 people and was spreading to Thailand, Japan and now South Korea.
Source: ewnupdates - 🏆 30. / 53 Read more »

NICD urges S.Africans not to panic as Coronavirus spreads in AsiaIn their latest update, officials confirmed the new strain of coronavirus had infected 291 people and was spreading to Thailand, Japan and now South Korea. In kenya jkia (airport) they got systematic digital lcd scanners which they scan all passengers
Source: ewnupdates - 🏆 30. / 53 Read more »

JSE suffers broad-based losses amid fear of virus epidemicMore deaths in China caused by the coronavirus have sparked a wave of risk aversion in global markets
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »