Coronavirus outbreak: Death toll reaches 1,110 in China with 1,638 new confirmed cases

The death toll for the coronavirus outbreak in China has reportedly jumped to 1,110 on February 12 with another 1,638 new confirmed cases, according to Hubei's health commission. The total number of confirmed cases across China are now more than 44,200. Hubei province, which is the epicentre of the viral outbreak, has also reported 94 new deaths. 

The outbreak took place in Wuhan in January and multiple countries have started evacuating their citizens from the country, and have decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China. The virus was officially also named 'COVID-19' at a conference in Geneva held by the World Health Organisation, where the body's chief said that countries had a chance of stopping its global spread. Earlier this month, WHO also declared Coronavirus as a 'global public health emergency'. 

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The organisation further cautioned about the spread of cases outside of China as it could be 'the spark that becomes a bigger fire'. There are also more than 300 cases in 24 other countries and territories, however, only two deaths have been reported outside China so far. WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also reportedly said that although 99 per cent of cases are in China, where it remains 'very much an emergency', it also 'holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world'. 

$675 million for response plan

In order to tackle the spreading virus, WHO stated that the international community has further launched a $675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020. Earlier, WHO had also warned the international public health authorities that the Wuhan Virus was of a significant threat to the nations outside mainland China and the disease's pandemic nature enforced a global response to the outbreak.

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However, on February 10, the Chinese government eased some restrictions on work and travel and the workers now are reportedly returning back to offices and factories. Coronavirus has also thrown the travel industry into chaos, threatening billions of dollars in losses while keeping a million travellers at home. Asia, which attracts 75 per cent of Lunar New Year travellers, has further seen a decline even though the Chinese New Year is one of China's major travel periods. 

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