China’s coronavirus death toll rises to 722

BEIJING: Chinese health officials said on Saturday that they received reports of 3,399 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 86 deaths reported on Friday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The death toll now stands at 722.

According to the national health commission, another 86 people died from the virus epidemic, with all but five in hard-hit Hubei province, where the disease emerged the first time.

About 35,000 people have been infected by the new strain, which is supposed to have emerged in a wild animal market in the central city of Wuhan last year.

The epidemic has impelled the Chinese government to lock down big cities home to tens of millions of people, as resentment mounts over its handling of the calamity, especially after a whistleblowing doctor fell victim to the virus.

With panic spiraling around the globe — more than 320 cases have reported in nearly 30 other countries — researchers and experts were racing to find treatments and a vaccine to fight against the outbreak of the virus.

Besides, over 120 others died around the globe due to deadly viruses. While the government of China has struggled to contain the existing virus despite having placed some 56 million people under effective lockdown in Hubei provincial in Wuhan city.