China logs 139 new coronavirus cases amid reports of third death
Illness has spread beyond Wuhan, the city where outbreak originated, officials say
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nearly 140 new cases have been logged in the mystery coronavirus outbreak in China, officials have said, amid reports of a third death.
Beijing’s Daxing health commission confirmed two new cases of coronavirus, while Guangdong province officials confirmed one case, marking the first instances of the illness spreading beyond Wuhan, the city where cases were first discovered.
The Wuhan municipal health commission said in a statement that 136 cases of coronavirus emerged in the city on Saturday and Sunday. Two cases have also been reported in Thailand and one in Japan – each involving people who travelled from Wuhan.
The Agence France-Presse news agency reported that a third patient had died of the infection.
Medical experts are still struggling to understand the new strain of the Sars-like virus. Its transmission path has not been mapped completely and its source is unknown.
On Sunday China’s national health commission insisted the outbreak was controllable.
Monitoring is set to ramp up during Lunar new year, when hundreds of millions of Chinese are due to travel abroad for celebrations.
The World Health Organisation said in a tweet on Sunday that some of the new cases appear not to be linked to the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, believed to the centre of the outbreak. Due to due to China’s efforts to implement broader screening, new cases may be identified in the coming days and weeks, it added.
“The fact that three cases have been exported to Thailand and Japan without connection to the Huanan seafood market suggests that the virus has spread beyond the Huanan seafood market into the community,” said David Hui, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wuhan will strengthen oversight of large-scale events and reduce the number of activities that involve public gatherings, state media quoted Chen Yanxin, the city’s deputy mayor as saying on Sunday.
Additional reporting by agencies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments