The death toll due to the deadly disease across the world mounted to 3,123 and confirmed cases surpassed 91,783, official media here reported.

BEIJING: The death toll of coronavirus in China has crossed 3,000 with 31 new fatalities and the total number of confirmed cases jumped to over 94,000 globally according to World Health Organisation.

Coronavirus cases also surged to over 84,400 in China, and President Xi Jinping has called for “undiminished vigilance”, saying the situation in virus-hit Wuhan still remains severe despite positive progress.

China’s National Health Commission said on Thursday that it received reports of 139 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 31 deaths on Wednesday on the Chinese mainland.

All the deaths were in the epicentre of the virus, Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan, which continued to be ground zero of the COVID-19.

Also on Wednesday, 143 new suspected cases were reported while the number of severe cases decreased by 464 to 5,952, the NHC said, adding that 522 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland have reached 80,409 by the end of Wednesday.

This included 3,012 people who have died of the disease, 25,352 patients still undergoing treatment and 52,045 patients who have been discharged.

Also on Wednesday, two “imported cases” (people arriving from abroad) of the novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland, all of which were in Zhejiang Province.

By the end of Wednesday, 20 imported cases have been reported, the commission said.

By the end of Wednesday, 104 confirmed cases, including two deaths have been reported in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 42 in Taiwan, including one death, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Forty-three patients in Hong Kong, nine in Macao and 12 in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.

In Hubei province, from where the COVID-19 originated in December reported 134 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 31 new deaths on Wednesday, the local health commission said.

The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in the hard-hit province to 67,466 and that of total deaths to 2,902, which included 2,305 fatalities in Wuhan.

The province also saw 1,923 patients discharged from hospital after recovery on Wednesday, bringing the total number of discharged patients in the province to 40,479.

Among the 20,765 hospitalised patients, 4,747 were still in severe condition and another 1,041 in critical condition, it said.

Hubei province also reported 67 new suspected cases of the virus on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for undiminished vigilance on the prevention and control work of the COVID-19 as the situation in the Wuhan City and Hubei Province remains severe.

After arduous efforts throughout the country, the current situation of the epidemic prevention and control has continued to improve, and production and people’s living have been recovering, Xi said in a meeting of the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC) on Wednesday here.

He called for more efforts to accelerate the establishment of an economic and social order that is compatible with the prevention and control work of the epidemic, so as to consolidate and expand this hard-won good momentum and create condition to build a moderately well-off society in all respects, and completely eliminate absolute poverty, state-run CGTN reported.

The epidemic prevention and control work remains tough in Hubei province and Wuhan city, and the risk of the epidemic spreading is increasing due to increased movement of people and gatherings in other regions, he pointed out.

He asked relevant authorities to deepen global cooperation and play China’s role as a responsible major country.

It is imperative to promptly advance various tasks of economic and social development, orderly promote the resumption of work and production, realise the orderly flow of people and property, the connection of production, supply and marketing, and the effective integration of domestic and foreign trade, and minimise the loss caused by the epidemic, Xi said.

The CPC meeting highlighted the importance of COVID-19 prevention and control work in Beijing and called for more efforts in preventing the situation from rebounding.

The meeting also urged more scientific research into test kits, vaccines and medical supplies.

By the end of Wednesday, there have been 12,600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus outside China, with over 214 deaths, statistics from the World Health Organisation showed Thursday.

In the past 24 hours, 2,103 newly confirmed cases outside China have been reported and four new member states–Argentina, Chile, Poland and Ukraine–have reported cases of COVID-19, the state-run People’s Daily reported.

South Korea confirmed 438 more cases of COVID-19, raising the total number of infections to 5,766, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Japan confirmed over 1,037 coronavirus cases, and so far 12 people have died due to the infection.

Italy reported a total of 107 deaths of the deadly coronavirus, taking the total number to 3,089.

In Iran, the deadly infection claimed 92 lives out of more than 2,922 cases.

The US’ death toll from the COVID-19 rose to 11 on Thursday and nationwide there are nearly 160 confirmed cases.

France said that 21 new cases of COVID-19 had been identified with a total of 285 cases now diagnosed, of which 12 were cured and four have died.

The United Arab Emirates has cancelled all flights to Iran, as have other Gulf countries. It has also limited flights in China to just Beijing to reduce the spread of the virus.

ABU DHABI: Major travel disruptions due to the new coronavirus have already caused the equivalent of a roughly $100 million loss to airlines in the Middle East, which serves as a connection hub for east-west travel, the industry’s main trade association said Monday.

The Persian Gulf city of Dubai, which is home to the world’s busiest airport for international travel, relies heavily on tourism and aviation.

The Gulf is a major transit hub for passengers connecting from Europe to Asia.

The United Arab Emirates has cancelled all flights to Iran, as have other Gulf countries.

It has also limited flights in China to just Beijing to reduce the spread of the virus.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents around 290 airlines, said a projected 4.6% growth in passenger demand in the Middle East this year will be halved to just 2.3% if conditions do not change.

Most cases of the new coronavirus in the Middle East have come from travellers recently in Iran, where the virus has killed 66 people among some 1,500 who are infected.

Worldwide, the virus, which started in China, has infected more than 89,000 people, and more than 6,000 have died.

Even before the virus emerged, the big Gulf carriers had already posted significantly lower earnings due to higher fuel costs, a strengthened U.S. dollar, and lower airfreight and travel demand.

The IATA’s estimates do not include the additional impact to regional carriers forced to stop flights to Mecca and Medina, where Saudi Arabia suspended issuing visas to Muslim pilgrims to stymie the spread of the virus.

The United Arab Emirates-based newspaper The National reported that Dubai’s Emirates Group has given  employees at the airline, the Middle East’s biggest, the option to take paid and even unpaid leave.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other airlines in Europe and Asia have reportedly done the same.

“It’s a demonstration of how hard the industry’s been hit by flight cancellations and closing borders,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East.

The association has said that if the spread of the virus continues, the aviation industry globally can expect a $30 billion revenue loss and a 4.7 percent reduction in global air traffic for the year.

The aviation industry in the Asia Pacific region will be hardest hit, seeing a $27.8 billion revenue loss if the situation does not improve.About $12.8 billion of that will be wiped from the domestic Chinese aviation market.

The number of confirmed cases leapt by 523 from the previous day, to a total of 1,501, Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi told a news conference.

TEHRAN: Iran said Monday that novel coronavirus had killed 12 more people in the Islamic republic, raising the country’s overall death toll to 66.

The number of confirmed cases leapt by 523 from the previous day, to a total of 1,501, Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi told a news conference.

“We are announcing 523 new cases infected (and) 12 new deaths. The total number of deaths is therefore 66,” Raisi said. 

The worst-hit places were Tehran, the central province of Qom and Gilan in the north, the official said, adding that 291 people had recovered. 

Qom, a Shiite holy city, was the scene of Iran’s first reported cases and deaths from the outbreak that began in China.

The official news agency IRNA reported on Monday the death of Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 72, a member of the Expediency Council which advises the supreme leader.

IRNA did not specify the cause of death but said he had died at Tehran’s Massih Daneshvari Hospital, the capital’s main centre for patients suffering from the new coronavirus.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan revealed that two new patients, one in New Delhi and the other in Telangana, caught the deadly bug that has already killed over 3,000 people.

NEW DELHI: With India back on the active Coronavirus map, as two persons tested positive on Monday, the Centre said it will pay more attention to community surveillance for people with travel histories from highly-infected countries, a step experts warned might be not enough.

On the last count, the virus had travelled to 72 countries and territories, besides a Japanese cruise ship.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan revealed that two new patients, one in New Delhi and the other in Telangana, caught the deadly bug that has already killed over 3,000 people and infected over 90,000 globally.

While the Delhi patient returned from Italy recently, the one in Telangana had been to Dubai. Their condition is said to be stable.

The government is now trying to identify and isolate people who came in contact with them.

The two new cases are in addition to the three from Kerala earlier. 

“At the moment, passengers from 12 countries are being screened for possible infection at airports and seaports. If a need arises on the basis of scientific evaluation, we could screen travellers from more countries in the days to come,” Vardhan said.

But officials in the health ministry conceded that the expanding footprint on the virus could make it tougher for India to combat it.

“It was still easier till the outbreak was mostly localised in China. But with passengers arriving from countries that are reeling from high number of infections, we are feeling more pressure,” a senior ministry official told this newspaper.

Going forward, the government wants to increase community surveillance, for which a training module of state officials will be held this week.” These officials will then train healthcare personnel at the district level,” another official said.

However, experts feared these steps might not be adequate.

“Given the fact that the virus has an extended incubation period, it’s now necessary to take initiatives like testing pneumonia patients without definitive diagnosis in major hospitals, random testing for virus in influenza patients through influenza surveillance programme and equip our hospitals for possible outbreaks,” said Dr G Arun Kumar, a senior epidemiologist with Manipal Institute of Virology.

Travellers from 12 countries including  Nepal, China, Hong Kong, Iran, under watch at 21 airports across the country.

5 samples test positive

As many as 3,245 samples scanned, out of which five have tested positive for COVID-19 while reports of 23 are awaited right now.

Borders under vigil 

Over 10.24 L people screened in the villages of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim.  

Grapplers cancel camp

Six women grapplers in Olympic weight categories including Vinesh Phogat cancelled Ukraine camp because of coronavirus. Vinesh will now go to Norway.

Faizan Rizwan

Since the outbreak of the new corona virus, the highly contagious virus caused great concern in the international community. Here are the precautions for the World Health Organization and China to prevent the virus.

Basic protective measures against the new coronavirus

(1) Maintain hand hygiene. Wash your hands with running water after coughing, before or after meals, after touching or handling animal waste, or use alcohol-free hand sanitizer.

(2) Maintain indoor air circulation. Avoid closed, airless public places and crowded places. Wear masks if necessary. Cover your mouth and nose with tissue paper or elbow flexion when coughing and sneezing to prevent droplets from spreading.

(3) Be sure to wear a suitable mask when visiting a hospital or accompanying a doctor.

(4) Good and safe eating habits. Separate cutting boards and knives for raw and cooked food. Cook meat and eggs thoroughly during cooking.

(5) Try to avoid contact with wild or farmed animals without protection.