CHINA HAS STEPPED UP EFFORTS TO CURB THE SPREAD OF THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. HERE ARE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

■ China reported 2,009 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 142 deaths on Saturday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Among the deaths, 139 were in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, two in Sichuan, and one in Hunan.

China’s daily new confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease outside Hubei have been dropping for 12 consecutive days.

■ The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 68,500 by the end of Saturday, and 1,665 people had died of the disease.

A total of 11,272 patients remained in severe condition, and 8,228 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.

■ The proportion of severe and critical cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among all confirmed cases has decreased significantly in China. In Wuhan, the proportion of severe cases among the confirmed cases fell from a peak of 32.4 per cent on Jan. 28 to 21.6 per cent on Feb. 15.

The proportion in other parts of Hubei Province dropped from a peak of 18.4 percent on Jan. 27 to 11.1 percent on Feb. 15.

The percentage in other provinces in China also decreased significantly, falling from a peak of 15.9 per cent on January 27 to 7.2 per cent on February 15.

■ A new rapid testing kit for COVID-19 was developed by China’s State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease.

Authorities in charge of the laboratory claimed the test results can be shown within 15 minutes after collecting a drop of blood.