Coronavirus death toll rises to 908 in China
Beijing: The death toll in China due to novel coronavirus epidemic has gone up to 908 and the number of confirmed cases rose over 40,000, Chinese health officials said on Monday. There were 97 deaths and 3,062 new confirmed cases of the lethal infection on Sunday, China's National Health Commission said.
Ninety-one deaths were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the epidemic, two in Anhui, and one each in Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Hainan and Gansu, according to the commission.
A total of 908 people have died of the disease and 40,171 confirmed cases of the outbreak were reported in 31 provincial-level regions so far, it said.
Another 4,008 new suspected cases were reported on Sunday. Moreover, 296 patients became seriously ill, the commission said, adding that 6,484 patients remained in severe condition and 23,589 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.
A total of 3,281 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.
The commission said 3.99 lakh close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 29,307 were discharged from medical observation on Sunday, with 1.87 lakh still under medical observation.
By the end of Sunday, 36 confirmed cases, including one death, had been reported in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 18 in Taiwan. Overseas, over 300 cases of coronavirus have been reported, including from three from Kerala. Meanwhile, millions of people have started returning to Beijing and other cities in China after the extended holiday of China's New Year.
The holidays, which began on January 24 and were due to end on February 3, has been extended till February 9 as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
However, the employees of most of the offices have been asked to work from home.
As the biggest reverse migration began, Chinese officials said on Saturday that the cases of the deadly infection had started declining for the first time after weeks of sharp rise.
China's new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus outside Hubei has been dropping for six consecutive days, according to the commission.
A total of 444 new confirmed cases were reported on Sunday outside Hubei, the data showed.
The numbers of new confirmed cases in these provinces during the past days were 890 on Monday, 731 on Tuesday, 707 on Wednesday, 696 on Thursday, 558 on Friday and 509 on Saturday, the commission said.
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that the UN health agency would send an international mission to China as it received a response from Beijing.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the team leader would leave early next week with the rest of the experts to follow. The UN health agency said the number of cases of the coronavirus in China was "stabilising", which is a "good news". It, however, cautioned that it was too early to make any predictions about whether the virus might have peaked.
"There has been a stabilisation in the number of cases reported from Hubei," Michael Ryan, head of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme said at a briefing in Geneva.
"We're in a four-day stable period where the number of reported cases hasn't advanced. That's good news and may reflect the impact of the control measures that have been put in place," Ryan was quoted as saying. But he added that it was "very early to make any predictions".
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Devine’s all-round brilliance trumps Nandini’s hat-trick as GG edge DC by 4 runs
Navi Mumbai (PTI): Nandini Sharma’s maiden hat-trick went in vain as Sophie Devine starred with a breathtaking 95 and a superb final over under pressure to steer Gujarat Giants to a thrilling four-run win off the last ball over Delhi Capitals in a Women’s Premier League match here on Sunday.
This was Gujarat Giants' second win on the trot, while DC slipped to their second loss.
Sent in to bat, Giants opener Devine smashed seven fours and eight sixes in her 42-ball knock, adding 94 runs for the opening wicket with Beth Mooney (19) to set the platform.
Skipper Ashleigh Gardner kept the momentum going with a brisk 49 off 26 balls, but Nandini turned the tide with remarkable figures of 5 for 33, including a hat-trick, as Gujarat were bowled out for 209.
Chasing a stiff target, opener Lizelle Lee struck a scintillating 86 off 54 balls, studded with 12 fours and three sixes. She put on 41 runs with Shafali Verma (14) before adding 90 off 55 balls with Laura Wolvaardt (77 off 38) to keep Delhi firmly in the hunt.
Once Lee was dismissed by Kashvee Gautam (1/48) in the 15th over, Rajeshwari Gayakwad removed Chinelle Henry (7) to leave Delhi at 146 for three.
Needing 64 off the last 25 balls, skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (15) joined Wolvaardt as the pair plundered 58 runs in 23 balls to bring the equation down to seven off the final five deliveries.
Devine then returned to the spotlight, dismissing both batters and conceding just two runs in the final over to seal a dramatic win.
Earlier, Devine set the tone early, striking three fours off Chinelle Henry before taking Nandini apart with two fours and a six in the fourth over. She was particularly severe on Sneh Rana, hammering two fours and four successive sixes in an over that yielded 32 runs and powered Gujarat Giants to 80 without loss in the powerplay.
The New Zealander brought up her half-century in just 25 balls before Shree Charani broke the opening stand with a sharp caught-and-bowled effort in the ninth over to remove Mooney. Devine briefly regained control, hitting Charani for three sixes, but fell in the 11th over bowled by Nandini Sharma.
Skipper Ashleigh Gardner kept Gujarat Giants on course with a brisk 49 off 26 balls, smashing four boundaries and three sixes to take the side past the 200-mark.
Jemimah Rodrigues pulled off a fine catch to dismiss Georgia Wareham (3), while Henry removed Gardner and Bharti Fulmali (3).
Nandini then capped a memorable outing by picking up four wickets in the final over, including three off the last three balls, to complete her maiden hat-trick.
