China virus death toll passes 1,000: gov’t

THE NUMBER of fatalities from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,011 nationwide on Tuesday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 103 new deaths.

In its daily update, Hubei’s health commission also confirmed another 2,097 new cases in the central province, where the outbreak emerged in December.

There are now more than 42,200 confirmed cases across China, based on previously released figures from the government.

The new virus is believed to have emerged last year in a market that sells wild animals in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with medical workers and patients affected at a hospital in Beijing on Monday, where he called for “more decisive measures” to contain the outbreak, said state broadcaster CCTV.