Confirmed deaths due to the novel Coronavirus (nCov) on mainland China has touched 636, with total confirmed cases over 31,000, health officials said on February 7.
Deaths recorded on February 6 were 73, of which Hubei province (where Wuhan is situated) alone reported 69 deaths. Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one death each, China's National Health Commission said.
Among the deceased in Wuhan was Dr Li Wenliang (34), one of the eight whistleblowers who raised alarm about the disease. Li was the first to publicly report about the infections in Wuhan in December 2019.
Another 3,143 new infections were also reported on February 6, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 31,161. As many as 31 provincial regions have reported positive for nCov cases, the commission said.
Among the confirmed cases, 19 are foreign nationals living in China, it added but did not disclose their nationalities.
It also said that 1,540 patients were discharged after recovery till February 6, highlighting the number of people cured. The country has also opened a new 1,500-bed makeshift hospital especially built for coronavirus patients, days after a 1,000-bed hospital started functioning with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms in Wuhan.
Chinese officials argue that the death toll and confirmed cases are rising in Hubei province because of lack of enough hospitals and beds. Officials also started setting up tent hospitals and mobile clinics to treat the growing number of patients.
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China also lodged diplomatic protests to countries over the cancellation of flights to China due to virus fears. A spokesperson said: "As some countries have taken such excessive steps as suspending flights, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) has also issued bulletins and encouraged all countries to follow WHO recommendations."
"We deplore and oppose those countries who went against WHO's professional recommendations and ICAO's bulletins and have lodged stern representations with them," she said.
Several international airlines, including Indian carriers Air India and IndiGo, cancelled flights to China over fears of the virus spreading across the world, a move which Beijing described as being against WHO guidelines.
India is also among several countries, including the US, who have announced travel bans to China.
UPDATE: 41 more nCov cases on cruise-ship docked off Japan coast Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato on February 7 said more than 41 people on-board the cruise ship docked at Yokohama tested positive for coronavirus.
The jump in infected passengers on the cruise liner comes as the vessel was under a two-week quarantine with about 3,700 people in it. The new cases were out of the 171 remaining test results, Kato told reporters.
The rise in the number of infections shifts the mood for thousands of passengers stuck in the cruise who were allowed to breathe air on open decks on February 6.
Kato said that the new patients would be transported to hospitals in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures.
Live TV footage shows blue and white hoardings put up in the vessel where passengers diagnosed with the virus are moved out to medical facilities. The new cases take the total number of coronavirus infections in Japan to more than 80.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)
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