Almost all of the new deaths in China linked to the Covid-19 coronavirus have been recorded in central Hubei Province, at the epicenter of the epidemic, and most in its capital, Wuhan, the metropolis where the virus appeared. in December, according to the daily count of the Hubei Health Commission. These new deaths bring the total to 2,236 deaths. More than 75,000 people have been infected with Covid-19 in China, and hundreds elsewhere in more than 25 countries. The National Health Commission has also reported 889 new cases of contamination confirmed within 24 hours in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao).
Another new counting method
The Hubei Health Commission said earlier Friday, in its daily count, 115 additional deaths in the past 24 hours and 411 new cases of contamination in the province, including 319 in Wuhan. More than half of the new infections therefore took place in other Chinese provinces. There are still fears about the possible spread of the virus in the country, despite the drastic traffic restrictions and containment measures adopted in many cities.
China said on Thursday that it has again changed the method of counting patients with the new coronavirus and will now include only those who have passed a laboratory test. It was the second review of the criteria in just eight days, a move that could cloud the statistics and make it difficult to track the spread of the disease.
Concern in South Korea
In parallel, the South Korean authorities announced Friday that they have registered 52 new cases of Covid-19 disease, bringing to 156 the number of patients who tested positive for the new coronavirus in the country. Of these, 39 of the new cases are related to "Shincheonji Church of Jesus", located in the city of Daegu, which has more than 2.5 million inhabitants, said the Korean Center for Control and Prevention diseases. In total, more than 80 faithful of this Church have been infected. A 61-year-old woman, a member of this Christian sect and who did not know that she had contracted viral pneumonia, allegedly transmitted the virus to them, notably by attending religious services.
The Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that another case was confirmed at a hospital in Cheongdo County, not far from Daegu, bringing the number of people - patients and staff - to 16 contaminated in this establishment. A patient died Wednesday of the new coronavirus. Leaving aside the focus of the Diamond Princess liner in Japan, South Korea becomes the country with the highest number of cases nationally after China, from where the epidemic began. widespread.