Mainland China reports 573 new coronavirus cases on Feb. 29
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David Stanway
3-4 minutes
Mainland China reported 573 new confirmed coronavirus
cases on Feb. 29, up from 427 the previous day and the highest daily
increase in a week, the country’s health authority said on Sunday.
FILE
PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing face masks walk amid rainfall at the Central
Business District, as the country is hit by a novel coronavirus
outbreak, in Beijing, China February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer
The
new cases were concentrated in Wuhan, the city where the virus is
believed to have originated. Wuhan identified 565 new infections on
Saturday, amounting to nearly 99% of the total.
The number of
mainland China deaths stood at 35, down from 47 on the previous day and
the second lowest daily total in February. The total death toll in
mainland China now stands at 2,870, the National Health Commission said.
Of the deaths, 34 were in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located
and the epicenter of the outbreak, with the other in neighboring Henan.
Hubei accounted for 570 of the new cases.
The three new cases outside Hubei are the lowest since the National Health Commission began compiling daily numbers on Jan. 20.
The
commission also said a total of 41,625 patients had already been
discharged, amounting to 52% of the total number of confirmed cases on
the mainland, though officials have warned of the risks that some could
again develop symptoms.
In order to minimize the economic impact
of the coronavirus, China has ordered all its regions to classify their
districts into “high-risk”, “medium-risk” and “low-risk”, with the
latter expected to end all traffic restrictions and allow everyone to
return to work.
Hubei said on Saturday that 11 of its 103
counties had reported no new cases for at least 14 days, meeting the
“low-risk” criteria. However, as many as 58 counties in the province are
still deemed “high-risk”.
Ying Yong, general secretary of the
ruling Communist Party in Hubei, said on Saturday that there had been
“some positive changes” but the situation was still at a critical stage,
and the province could not yet ease restrictions on outbound travel.
In
speeches published on Sunday in Qiushi (Seeking Truth), the Communist
Party’s theoretical journal, President Xi Jinping said China needed to
take a “long-term view” of the outbreak and plug “loopholes” in its laws
and emergency response mechanisms.
He said China must establish
an emergency reserve and supply system for vital materials in order to
ensure they can be deployed at critical moments.
The World Health
Organization said in its Saturday bulletin that there were 6,009 cases
outside China, up 1,318 compared to the previous day. A total of 53
countries have now reported cases, it said, with Mexico and San Marino
the latest additions to the list.
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