Death toll in China’s coronavirus outbreak rises to 723

By Fuat Kabakci

BEIJING (AA) - The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak climbed to 723, the country’s National Health Commission (NHC) said Saturday.

Authorities said 34,546 confirmed cases have been reported and 86 people have died and more than 3,000 new cases have been detected in the last 24 hours.

The number of people under medical observation rose to 185,555 while the number of those thought to be infected stands at 27,657.

The number of those detected with the virus outside China's mainland reached 26 in Hong Kong and 10 in Macau.

The virus is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.

Besides China, the virus has spread to more than 20 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.

Many countries have evacuated their citizens from the city of Wuhan -- the epicenter of the virus -- and other affected areas of China, placing them in isolated medical care.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international emergency.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar