Coronavirus claims 426 lives in China, cases surge past 20,000

The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days as more than 20,000 cases have been reported from Hubei province of China alone. The WHO has declared it a health emergency.   

Hubei (China): The death toll from coronavirus in China’s Hubei province rose to 426 on Tuesday, RT reported citing Chinese state TV. The confirmed cases of coronavirus in China have now surged past 20,000.

The virus was diagnosed first in December in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and has spread to most parts of the world.

As the virus spread, Beijing faced global isolation with neighboring countries like North Korea, Russia, Mongolia closing its borders with China.

China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.

Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic as the virus continues to spread, with cases reported in Australia, France, the United States and seven Asian countries besides China.

The US, Australia, and Singapore have temporarily shut their doors to non-citizens who have recently traveled to China. Vietnam has also barred all flights to and from China.

Many countries, including India, the US, Germany, Iran and Sri Lanka have repatriated their citizens from China.