China says death toll due to coronavirus epidemic jumps past 1,800

The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic
jumped past 1,800 on Tuesday after 93 more people died in Hubei province, the
hard-hit epicenter of the outbreak.
In its daily update, the province’s health
commission also reported 1,807 new cases, a smaller number of infections
compared to those declared on Monday.
The new cases mean more than 72,300 people have now
been affected across the country.
Most of the cases are in Hubei, where the virus
first emerged in December before spiraling into a nationwide epidemic.
Tuesday’s jump in the death toll was also lower than
the increase reported Monday, bringing the national number of deaths to 1,863.
Outside of hardest-hit Hubei, which has been
effectively locked down to try to contain the virus, the number of new cases
has been slowing and China’s national health authority has said this is a sign
the outbreak is under control.
However, World Health Organization chief Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the trend “must be interpreted very cautiously.”
“Trends can change as new populations are affected.
It is too early to tell if this reported decline will continue. Every scenario
is still on the table,” he told reporters on Monday.