The death toll from coronavirus in China has exceeded the threshold of 1,600 people today, after 139 deaths were announced in Hubei Province, the center of the virus's spread.
In its daily report, the provincial health committee reported 1,843 new cases of the virus, the third day that there was a decrease in reported infections in Hubei, bringing the total number of infections across China to more than 66,000.
At least 1,662 people died as a result of the virus, which first appeared in Wuhan, the provincial capital, in December.
This week, Hubei added 14,000 infections in one day to the outcome of the virus infection, after officials changed the diagnostic method, to include, along with laboratory tests to confirm the infection, the use of CT lung images.
On the other hand, French Health Minister Agnes Bouzin announced on Saturday the first death of a person infected with the Corona virus in France.
The Chinese tourist, who died in France due to Corona, is 80 years old and was being treated in a French hospital. This death is the first outside Asia and the first in Europe as well.
In China, authorities have ordered residents of the capital, Beijing, to return to quarantine for two weeks, as part of new measures to prevent the spread of the virus, especially at the end of the holiday season.
And the capital is now forcing all those arriving from abroad to be quarantined for 14 days in their homes or in a hotel under penalty of sanctions, according to the official Beijing Daily.
Movement in the city remains largely paralyzed, and many companies force their employees to work from home.
After the Lunar New Year holiday, which extended for a few days, many Chinese who went to their hometowns to celebrate the feast return to the cities in which they live.
Also on Saturday, the Chinese central bank announced a decision to sterilize the banknotes in circulation by placing them in stone for a period of 14 days, before being put back into circulation.