Death toll in China from coronavirus rises to 2,914

By Fuat Kabakci

BEIJING (AA) - The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 2,914 Monday, according to the National Health Commission.

The agency said 42 more people died in the last 24 hours while 202 new cases were detected by authorities, bringing the total number of confirmed cases close to 80,000.

All of the latest deaths occurred at the epicenter of the outbreak, Hubei province.

Nearly 46,200 people are currently under medical care, while the number of discharged patients totals 44,462.

Outside mainland China, there are 98 registered cases in Hong Kong and 10 in Macau.

The coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to more than 30 other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.

The World Health Organization, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency Friday, has raised the global coronavirus alert level from high to "very high."

*Writing by Gozde Bayar