Coronavirus updates: Death toll reaches 1,666, France reports first death outside Asia

• The new case numbers were down from Saturday, when the province reported 2,420

• WHO chief again praises China, saying the steps taken by Beijing are encouraging

February 16, 2020 – China’s Hubei province, the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, reported 139 new deaths on Sunday.

The central province also reported 1,843 newly confirmed cases, with 1,548 of those in the provincial capital of Wuhan, where the outbreak was believed to have started at a seafood and meat market in December.

The new deaths were flat from the day before, and new case numbers were down from Saturday, when the province reported 2,420 newly confirmed infections.

The new reported numbers brought the total deaths and cases attributable to the novel coronavirus to 1,596 and 56,249, respectively, in the province.

Coronavirus updates: Feb 16, 2020

On Saturday, the World Health Organisation urged the international community to make their response to the coronavirus governmentwide.

“This is not a job for health ministers alone. It takes a whole-of-government approach,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General at the organization, in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. “That approach must be coherent and coordinated, guided by evidence and public health priorities.”

The WHO chief again praised China, saying the steps taken by the Beijing government are encouraging.

“China has bought the world time. We don’t know how much time,” he said. “We’re encouraged that outside China, we have not yet seen widespread community transmission.”

A Chinese tourist has died in France, marking the first death in Europe from the disease caused by the coronavirus, France’s health ministry said.

An 80-year-old Chinese man has died from the coronavirus in a French hospital, becoming the first fatality reported outside Asia from the epidemic.

The death came as Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, slammed international overreaction to the new coronavirus and insisted the outbreak was under control because of Beijing’s comprehensive response to the threat.

Outside China, the death toll attributable to the virus remained at four as of Saturday.

Reporting by Bloomberg/ SCMP