Coronavirus cases surge to 79,440 as death toll rises to 2,625

Adding more than 800 confirmed cases of coronavirus in less than a week and taking the nationwide total to 833, South Korea has become the world’s biggest center outside China. The country witnessed a rapid surge in the number of reported cases with 231 more to the total on Monday (February 24).

In China, experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO), over the weekend, visited several hospitals in Wuhan city, which was the origin of the outbreak.

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According to health officials, the overall death toll rose to 2,592 with 150 new fatalities reported while the total number of confirmed cases in the Chinese mainland touched 77,150, said the National Health Commission.

Even as the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak grips the Asian continent, Japan’s total of 838 cases and four deaths, include the 691 cases reported from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship. As per the latest reports, around 100 passengers who were in close contact with infected people on board began disembarking from the liner.

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With the 970-passenger disembarkation, a 14-day quarantine is expected to start for more than 1,000 crew still on board as many of them did not undergo quarantine due to their need to keep the ship running.

There have been 21 more deaths across the world due to the lack of appropriate treatment and precautions to be adopted to curb the spread of the virus. Singapore (90), Italy (152), Iran (43), Hong Kong (79), Australia (23), Malaysia (22), Taiwan (28), Thailand (35), and the United States (35) have recorded total 507 virus affected cases.

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