Number of coronavirus infections in China surpasses SARS epidemic
The total number of people in China infected by the new coronavirus has soared to nearly 6,000, with thousands more suspected surpassing those stricken by SARS, according to reports.
The country on Wednesday reported 5,974 confirmed cases of the illness, compared to its 5,327 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in the 2002-03 outbreak.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the coronavirus has reached 132. During the SARS epidemic, 348 people were killed in China and nearly 800 died worldwide.
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On Tuesday, the coronavirus death toll was 106 and the total number of confirmed cases was 4,515, according to China’s National Health Commission.
More than 50 cases of the new virus have been reported outside China, including five in the US, all in people who had recently traveled to the epicenter city of Wuhan.
The United Arab Emirates, home to long-haul airlines Emirates and Etihad, confirmed its first four cases Wednesday – the first in the Middle East — in members of a family who had come from Wuhan, according to the Washington Post.
British Airways also announced it was immediately suspending all flights to and from mainland China after the British government warned against unnecessary travel to the country.
“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” the airline, which operates daily flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to Shanghai and Beijing, said in a statement.
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Chartered flights carrying evacuees home to the US and Japan left Wuhan early Wednesday as other countries planned similar evacuations from areas China has shut down to try to contain the virus.
Infections also have been confirmed in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Source: New York Post
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