COVID-19 deaths in China now more than 2,400

BEIJING - The death toll in China from the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic rose past 2,400 on Sunday after 96 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicenter of the outbreak.

The vast majority of the deaths were in the provincial capital of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December, according to the daily update from the Hubei health commission.

The province also reported 630 new confirmed cases, bringing the total within China to around 77,000.

The coronavirus has spread to more than 25 countries and is causing mounting alarm due to new pockets of outbreak in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

China has sowed confusion about its numbers by repeatedly changing its counting methods, which could further complicate efforts to track the contagion.

Filipinos

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the number of persons under investigation (PUIs) for possible COVID-19 reached 597 as of Friday morning.

The DOH said 455 or about 76% of the PUIs were already discharged from hospitals.

Only 139 are being attended to at medical facilities across the country. Most of them are in Metro Manila as only 33 are confined in other regions.

The three previously confirmed cases of COVID-19—all Chinese nationals—were no longer receiving hospital care. Two of them recovered and one died.

Aboard the M/V Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama Port in Japan, 49 Filipinos tested positive for COVID-19, the Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said on Saturday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs also confirmed on Saturday that another Filipino in the United Arab Emirates tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of Pinoys infected to 11.

The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong also said last week that an overseas Filipina worker tested positive for COVID-19. —Agence France-Presse/KG, GMA News