Coronavirus toll jumps to 492, cases over 24K
‘Over 2.52 lakh who were in close contacts with patients had been traced with over 1.85 lakh others still under medical observation’
BEIJING: The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak rose to 492 on Tuesday while the total number of confirmed cases mounted to 24324, Chinese health officials announced on Wednesday.
By the end of Tuesday, a total of 492 people had died after being infected and 24,324 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provinciallevel regions, China's National Health Commission reported.
It said 65 deaths were reported on Tuesday, all from Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.
Also 3,887 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on Tuesday, it said.
Also on Tuesday, 431 patients became seriously ill, while 262 were discharged from hospital after recovery.
The commission added that 3,219 patients remained in severe condition and 23,260 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.
A total of 892 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery, it said.
Over 2.52 lakh who were in close contacts with patients had been traced with over 1.85 lakh others still under medical observation, it added.
In recent days, many citizens in Cangshan district of Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, received a series of calls.
Over the phone, they were asked questions like “have you come into contact with confirmed coronavirus cases? Do you have symptoms like cough and fever?”
The phone calls are made by robots. In cooperation with China's tech-giant Baidu, the local government established the “Intelligent Cangshan” system. As the coronavirus outbreak continues, robots are introduced to make calls to help coronavirus prevention.
Lin Hui, deputy of the Cangshan Intelligent Centre, said the Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform would make oneto-one phone calls to specific groups and collect information to analyze and form reports.
“The robots can make over 5,000 phone calls per hour, which greatly improves our efficiency in monitoring the disease,” said Lin. “With the help of AI, we can have a clear idea about citizens' health and provide guidance for potential patients.” A Malaysian journalist was charged Wednesday with causing public alarm with Facebook posts about the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, as authorities warned against online “rumourmongering”.