Graphic shows confirmed Covid-19 cases as of February 17.
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HEALTH

Covid-19 cases surpass 70,000

February 17, 2020 - A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 71,000 people globally, as WHO specialists arrive in Beijing for a joint mission with Chinese health experts to tackle the epidemic.

China said Monday it may postpone its annual congress in March, its biggest political meeting of the year, as the military dispatched hundreds more medical workers and extra supplies to Wuhan, the Chinese city hit hardest by a two-month-old virus outbreak.

Japanese officials, meanwhile, confirmed 99 more people were infected by the new virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 454.

Chinese health authorities reported 2,048 new cases of the virus and 105 more deaths. Another 10,844 people have recovered from Covid-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus, and have been discharged from hospitals, according to Monday’s figures. The death toll is 1,770.

Wuhan has accounted for the vast majority of mainland China’s 70,000-plus cases. Some 60 million people in that area and other parts of China are under lockdown in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 17/02/2020; STORY: Graphic News
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