China reports 44 new coronavirus deaths, toll rises to nearly 2,800

BEIJING: China reported 44 more deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic on Friday (Feb 28), bringing the death toll to nearly 2,800.

The number of fatalities – which is up from the 29 reported on Thursday – were all in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, except for two deaths in Beijing.

There were 327 new confirmed cases, down from 433 cases a day earlier and the lowest daily figure in more than a month.

In total, 78,824 people have now been infected with the novel coronavirus in the mainland, said the National Health Commission.

Friday’s figure was the lowest rise in new cases since Jan 24, when 259 new infections were reported.

The general decline in new infections in China comes as infections in other countries gather pace, with the World Health Organization warning that the coronavirus epidemic was at a “decisive point”.

“No country should assume it won’t get cases, that would be a fatal mistake, quite literally,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Even China is now worried about importing cases and has ordered people arriving in Beijing from affected countries to go into a 14-day self-quarantine.