Coronavirus claims 97 lives in one day – but number of infections stabilises
5732 Mins Read
The number of people killed by the new coronavirus rose by 97 on Sunday, the highest number of casualties in a day.
The total number of deaths in China is now 908 – but the number of newly-infected people per day has stabilised.
Across China, 40,171 people are infected while 187,518 are under medical observation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent a team of experts to Beijing to help investigate the new virus.
According to Chinese data, 3,281 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital.
Over the weekend, the number of coronavirus deaths overtook that of the Sars epidemic in 2003 which also originated in China and killed 774 people worldwide.
The WHO on Saturday said the number of new cases in China was “stabilising” – but warned it was too early to say if the virus had peaked.
The UK announced that another case of the virus had been identified in the country, bringing the total number of British infections to four. Also on Sunday, Spain announced its second confirmed case. Officials said both new infections were acquired while the parties were in the French Alps. They are believed to have come into contact with a British tourist who became infected during a trip to Singapore last month.
Cruise ships remain stranded in the ports off coastal cities. Hong Kong on Sunday allowed 3,600 people aboard the World Dream cruise ship to disembark after all 1,800 crew tested negative for the infection.
Meanwhile, the Diamond Princess cruise ship entered its fifth day of quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama. The cruise ship has 64 confirmed cases of coronavirus on board. The passengers and crew will not be allowed to disembark until February 19 at the earliest.
