The death toll in China due to coronavirus continues to go up as it jumped to 722 on Friday, while the number of confirmed cases rose to 34,546, Chinese health authorities announced on Saturday.
As many as 86 deaths were reported from mainland China, with 3,399 cases on Friday from 31 provincial-level regions, the National Health Commission said.
Among the deaths, 81 are in Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, two in Heilongjiang, as well as one in Beijing, Henan and Gansu, the commission said.
By the end of Friday, 26 confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported in Hong Kong.
Macao reported 10 cases, while Taiwan reported 16 cases, it said.
A total of 4,214 new suspected cases were reported and 1,280 patients became seriously ill, and 510 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, according to the commission.
It added that 6,101 patients remained in severe condition, and 27,657 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.
As many as 2,050 people have been discharged from hospital after recovery.
The commission said 3.45 lakh ‘close contacts’ have been traced, adding that among them, 26,702 were discharged from medical observation on Friday.
Over 1.89 lakh others are still under medical observation.
China doing good job on coronavirus: Trump
China is doing a good job on its fight against the deadly coronavirus that has taken the lives of large number of people, President Donald Trump has said, adding that the United States was helping them out.
“China is working very hard. Late last night, I had a very good talk with President Xi and we talked mostly about the coronavirus,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.
“I think they are doing a very professional job.”
The Chinese, Trump said, were in touch with the World Health Organization and also the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We’re working together,” he said.
“I had a great conversation last night with President Xi. It’s a tough situation. I think they’re doing a very good job.”
Asked if he is concerned about its potential impact on global economy, Trump said: “I think that China will do a very good job.”
According to US Health Secretary Alex Azar, there have been 12 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, including two cases of transmission to people who had not recently been in China.
The US has offered to send world-class experts to China to assist them, Azhar said.
According to him, the US has implemented temporary quarantines of its citizens who have recently been to China’s Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus, and have asked for voluntary, self-monitoring quarantines for people who have recently been elsewhere in mainland China.
