The death toll from coronavirus, a disease which broke out in Wuhan, China, in December, has exceeded 1000 according to the Chinese State Media, even as the United Kingdom resolves to put in all it takes to stop the further spread of the virus.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Finance Website, the government has deployed over $11 billion dollars to fight the disease.
One death each has been reported in Hong Kong and the Philippines while the number of infections in mainland China reached almost 42,300, bringing the total number of cases across the world to more than 42,700.
China reported a record-breaking 97 deaths on Sunday. The current death toll topples the 774 deaths recorded in early 2000 during the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Also the virus has been confirmed in Singapore, UK, Malaysia, Taiwan, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, UAE, France, Japan, with the World Health Organisation declaring a global emergency.
Other countries where cases of the disease have been reported are Thailand, Canada, Australia, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Cambodia, and the United States.
Earlier, Li Wenliang, a Chinese ophthalmologist who raised the alarm on the disease, was confirmed dead after contracting the virus while treating an infected patient.
China also recorded the youngest coronavirus patient when a 30-hour-old baby tested positive just a day after its infected mother was delivered of the child.
But Chinese data shows that about 3,281 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital, and that millions are returning to work, albeit on staggering schedules.
China has released a mobile app that tracks people and alerts them if they have been in “close contact with someone infected” with coronavirus.
The “close contact detector” was released Saturday night, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
Users scan a QR code on popular Chinese apps like WeChat and QQ, and submit their name, phone number and government-issued ID number to request information about whether they have been in close contact with anyone infected by the virus.
Meanwhile in the United Kingdom,(Reuters/NAN) Britain on Monday declared the new coronavirus a serious and imminent threat to public health, giving the government additional powers to isolate those suspected of being infected.
Britain has recorded four cases of coronavirus so far while British nationals, who have been flown back from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the epidemic broke out, are being quarantined for 14 days.
The virus has killed more than 900 people, all but two in mainland China, and has spread to at least 27 countries and territories.
Britain’s health ministry said new measures were aimed at delaying or preventing further transmission of the coronavirus.
“We are strengthening our regulations so we can keep individuals in supported isolation for their own safety and if public health professionals consider they may be at risk of spreading the virus to other members of the public,” a health ministry spokesman said.
Arrowe Park Hospital, near Liverpool in northern England, and Kents Hill Park, in Milton Keynes, have been designated as isolation facilities.
The death toll of 97 on Sunday was the largest in a single day since the outbreak was detected in December.
It has been linked to a market selling animals in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.
A team of experts headed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) was flying into Beijing on Monday to help assess the latest outbreak.
The virus had infected more than 330 people.
The epidemic has caused huge disruptions in China with usually teeming cities becoming virtual ghost towns during the past two weeks as Communist Party rulers ordered lockdowns, canceled flights and closed factories and schools.
China’s central bank has taken a raft of steps to support the economy, including reducing interest rates and flushing the market with liquidity.
From Monday, it will provide special funds for banks to re-lend to businesses combating the virus.
The Chinese government has extended 60.33 billion yuan (S$11.8 billion) to help contain a spreading virus, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 81 on Monday, as the government extended the Lunar New Year holiday and more big businesses shut down or told staff to work from home in an effort to curb the spread.