China's new coronavirus cases rise on infections from abroad

People wearing protective face masks are seen on a crossroads as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, China March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

 

BEIJING, March 11 (Reuters) - China reported an uptick in new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, reversing four straight days of fewer new cases, driven by infected individuals arriving from abroad.

 

Mainland China had 24 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday, up from 19 new cases a day earlier.

 

Of the new infections, 10 were imported cases, bringing the overall cases from abroad to 79.

 

The Chinese capital of Beijing on Tuesday saw six new cases involving individuals who travelled from Italy and the United States, while Shanghai had two imported infections, Shandong province one and Gansu province one.

 

Taiwan too has begun reporting an uptick in imported cases. The government said on Wednesday the island's 48th case was a woman in her 30s who had returned from holiday in Britain and had most likely been infected there.

 

As China's efforts to control the spread of the pathogen at home start to payoff, Beijing is turning its focus on overseas cases as the coronavirus expands its footprint across the globe.

 

New infections in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, continued to stabilise, with new cases declining for the sixth day.

 

In Wuhan, the provincial capital, just 13 new infections were reported on Tuesday, or all of the new cases in Hubei.

 

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday made his first visit to Wuhan since the coronavirus outbreak forced a lockdown of the city of 11 million people.

 

A few cities in Hubei have started to loosen restrictions on movement of people and goods.

 

Hunan province and the municipality of Chongqing lowered their emergency response level as domestic infections eased across the country.

 

So far, 24 municipalities, regions and provinces have cut their emergency response level from the highest tier previously.

 

The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far stood at 80,778 as of Tuesday.

 

The death toll in mainland China had reached 3,158 as of the end of Tuesday, up by 22 from the previous day.

 

The central province of Hubei accounted for all of the new deaths, including 19 fatalities in the provincial capital of Wuhan.

 

Italian coronavirus deaths jump 36% to 631

 

ROME (Reuters) - The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has jumped by 168 to 631, an increase of 36%, the Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday, the largest rise in absolute numbers since the contagion came to light on Feb. 21.

The total number of cases in Italy, the European country hardest hit by the virus in Europe, rose to 10,149 from a previous 9,172, an increase of 10.7%.

The head of the agency said that, of those originally infected, 1,004 had fully recovered compared to 724 the day before. Some 877 people were in intensive care against a previous 733.