The death toll in mainland China from the coronavirus surged to 811, the National Health Commission said on Sunday, as a Japanese and an American became the first foreigners to die of the illness in China.
The commission reported 89 deaths nationwide up to midnight on Saturday with 81 of the fatalities in Hubei, the central province at the heart of the outbreak.
More people have now died from coronavirus in China than did worldwide during the 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), with the total number of infections in the country rising to 37,198.
Two people have died from the virus outside mainland China – one in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines – and at least 25 countries have confirmed cases.
Major airlines have suspended flights to and from China and several countries have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan and the wider Hubei province in a bid to stop the spread of the infection.
Source: Al Jazeera News
