Death toll in China from coronavirus rises to 2,790

By Fuat Kabakci

BEIJING (AA) - The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China has risen to 2,790 Friday, according to the country’s National Health Commission.

The commission said 44 more people have died in the past 24 hours while 327 new cases were detected by health authorities, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to more than 78,824.

Some 7,952 of them are in critical condition, according to the commission.

Forty-one of the deaths occurred in the epicenter of the outbreak, Hubei province, while two of them were in the capital Beijing and one in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

The overall death toll in China hit 2,790, including two in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Around 65,225 people are currently under medical care, while the number of discharged patients totals around 36,117.

Outside mainland China, there are 93 registered cases in Hong Kong and 10 others 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 has declared the outbreak an international health emergency.

*Writing by Sena Guler