Coronavirus updates: total of 425 deaths and 20,438 confirmed cases in China

• New cases in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, came to 2,345 for a total of 13,522

• Deaths in the province rose by 64 to 414, another record high

Health authorities of China in Hubei announced on Tuesday that coronavirus fatalities in the province had risen to 414 after 64 deaths were reported overnight – yet another daily record.

In figures current as of midnight on Monday, the health commission of Hubei also reported 2,345 new cases of infection. Of those, 1,242 were reported in Wuhan, the province’s capital and epicentre of the deadly contagion, also known as 2019-nCoV.

There have been 425 deaths caused by the virus in mainland China and one in the Philippines.

The latest figures come as the number of daily casualties – and levels of global fear – rise sharply.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, America’s leading public health institute, on Monday defended what it called “aggressive actions” it is taking to control the US spread of the coronavirus. These include tough warnings against traveling to China and mandatory federal quarantines for those arriving from the Wuhan area where most of the cases come from. Beijing has criticized the US steps.

Meanwhile, the economic fallout from the virus continued amid growing concern that global growth could suffer. CNBC reported Monday that Goldman Sachs was cancelling its annual partner meeting in New York this week over concern that Asia-based partners wouldn’t be able to travel. The US Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress that it may need to tap some US$136 million to combat the outbreak.

On other economic fronts, oil fell to its lowest level in over a year during the US trading day Monday on declining Chinese demand.

The CDC has called the outbreak in China “explosive” and “unprecedented”. In response, Beijing has criticised Washington’s quarantine decision and its “unfriendly comments”.

Also on Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, warned that the world may be “dangerously” unprepared for the next pandemic. He urged the UN agency’s 196 member countries to “invest in preparedness” not “panic”, adding that funding for outbreak preparedness in surrounding countries “has remained grossly inadequate” in the past.

By Robert Delaney @ SCMP, Additional reporting by Mark Magnier