China Coronavirus outbreak: All the latest updates 2020 Mainland China had 118 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak by the end of Thursday, the national health commission reported on Friday, pushing the number of deaths nationwide to at least 2,236.
Beijing also reported 1,109 new confirmed cases of the disease during the same period, sharply up from 349 cases the previous day, reversing three days of decline.
At least 631 of the new cases were from the epicenter of the epidemic in Hubei China Coronavirus outbreak, including 220 cases from the province’s prison system. Most of the latest deaths were also from the province.
The latest number of infections nationwide has now reached 75,685.
Earlier, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva that the recent decline in the number of new cases was encouraging, but added that it was too early to know if this trend would continue. “We are encouraged by this trend but this is no time for complacency,” he said.
Here are the latest updates:
China fires officials over the speed of coronavirus in prisons
China has fired nearly a dozen prison and justice department officials across three provinces due to the emergence of coronavirus infections in prisons, state media reported China Coronavirus outbreak. Shandong, Zhejiang and Hubei provinces, the latter of which is the epicenter of the ongoing outbreak, reported a total of 447 infections in prisons, according to the state-run tabloid Global Times. The paper described the infections as “blind zones” in China’s fight against the coronavirus.
Italy’s Lombardy region confirms the new coronavirus case
An Italian national has tested positive for the new coronavirus, a statement of the Lombardy region said. The 38-year old man has been admitted to a hospital in the Northern town of Codogno and further medical tests are still underway China Coronavirus outbreak, the region said. It would be the fourth case confirmed in Italy after two Chinese tourists and another Italian tested positive.
China police handle 274 cases of price gouging, hoarding
China’s police authorities have handled 274 cases of illegal commercial practices such as price gouging and hoarding during the coronavirus outbreak, said an official with China’s public security bureau. Li Jingsheng, the director of the public security administration at the Ministry of Public Security, also said they have dealt with a total of 1,787 cases of illegal wildlife trafficking during the outbreak. China has temporarily banned all such wild animal trade, as the coronavirus is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Wuhan.
Qatar accuses Saudis of hampering access to Gulf meet on coronavirus
Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of allowing a protracted dispute to hinder Gulf Arab coordination over the coronavirus outbreak by denying the Qatari health minister timely access to a meeting of regional health ministers in Riyadh. Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a post on its official Twitter account that Saudi Arabia had only granted an entry permit to Public Health Minister Hanan al-Kuwari after the meeting at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) China Coronavirus outbreak General Secretariat on Wednesday had already started. “We are surprised to see that Saudi is politicising a humanitarian sector, that requires close collaboration and coordination due to the urgency of the situation,” the English-language statement issued on Thursday said.