Beijing (AFP)
China announced on Monday a third death and nearly 140 new cases of the mysterious virus, similar to the SARS, fueling all the worries a few days from the great crusaders of the Chinese New Year.
The assessment has thus risen to 201 diagnosed cases, including 170 patients still hospitalized. Nine of them are in critical condition, according to Wuhan City health officials.
In this large city in central China where the virus appeared, 136 new cases were identified during the weekend. In addition, there are two new cases in Beijing, for the first time since the discovery of this virus, and one in the southern province of Guangdong.
The two cases in the capital relate to people who had gone to Wuhan and who, in a stable state, are being treated for pneumonia, according to the authorities of the Daxing district (south of Beijing).
In Guangdong, the same thing: the patient, a 66-year-old man, had visited relatives in Wuhan, according to regional health authorities.
SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) had killed 650 people in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
The epidemic comes as the Chinese New Year festivities approach, during which hundreds of millions of people travel to visit their families.
© 2020 AFP