Coronavirus: WHO says 'way too early' to predict the end of deadly epidemic

World Health Organisation (WHO) said on February 12 that it was too early to predict the end of novel coronavirus after a drop in new cases, as per reports. Head of WHO's health emergencies programme, Michael Ryan said at the agency's daily news conference that he thinks way too early to predict the beginning, middle and end of the pandemic now. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the number of newly reported cases in China has stabilised in the last week which has to be taken care of with extreme caution. He added that the deadly outbreak could go in any direction. The virus has claimed more than 1,300 lives and total infection cases soar beyond 60,000.

READ: Coronavirus: China's Death Toll Touches 1,355, Total Infection Cases Soar Beyond 60,000

Over 1,300 dead in China

Ryan said that a thorough research had managed to track down the sources of transmission in almost all the 441 cases outside China, with eight exceptional cases. The death toll due to the coronavirus outbreak in China has reached at least 1,355 as the number of fatalities in Hubei — the Chinese province at the centre of the epidemic — more than doubled to 242. The province also reported 14,840 new cases as it revised the method for counting infections. This brings the total number of cases in China to 60,016. 

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Hubei province said it carried out a review of past suspected cases, and revised its data to include “clinically diagnosed" cases in its daily disclosure. Of the 16,067 new cases, 13,332 are from the new category, while of the 242 new deaths, 135 are from the new category. Wednesday's report marked the highest infection and death count in a single day since the outbreak began.

China heightened its restrictions

China has heightened its restrictions at the locked-down epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak on February 11 refusing  to allow infected people in Wuhan from visiting hospitals outside of their home districts, as per reports. The preventive measure just comes a day after authorities sealed off residential compounds in the central city, where the virulent coronavirus is believed to have originated. Wuhan has been under effective lockdown since January 23 when the government suspended transport links out of the city to contain the virus. 

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