Death toll in China from coronavirus rises to 2,945

By Fuat Kabakci

BEIJING (AA) - The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 2,945 Tuesday, according to the country's National Health Commission.

The commission said 31 more people died in the last 24 hours while 125 new cases were detected by authorities, with the total number of confirmed cases now exceeding 80,000.

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

At least 40,651 people are currently under medical care, while the number of discharged patients totals 47,204.

Outside mainland China, there are 100 registered cases in Hong Kong.

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 Fahri Aksut