On Tuesday, February 4, the global death toll attributed to the deadly novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reached 427, while cases reported from around the world rose to 20,622. Hong Kong reported its first fatality, a 39-year old patient, who died this morning. In a situation which calls for global co-operation and co-ordination, China accused the US of not helping, but adding to the fear and panic, a reference to the strong steps taken by the US government to prevent the disease from spreading in the country.
Coronavirus update: latest cases and fatalities
On Monday (Feb. 3), China reported 3,235 new cases and 64 deaths, caused by the coronavirus infection, according to the country's National Health Commission. As of Tuesday morning, the total number of cases reached 20,438 and while fatalities touched 425 in mainland China.
China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, reported 2,345 new cases out of 3,235 new cases reported on Monday. All 64 fatalities reported on Monday took place in Hubei, itself, the Global Times reported.
All the 64 fatalities, a record high, reported in Hubei, took place in its capital Wuhan, the South China Morning Post reported. Out of the 2,345 new cases of infection recorded in the province, 1,242 were reported in Wuhan. The disease was first reported in Wuhan, on Dec. 31.
Beijing seeks Washington help
As the situation remains grim, the spat between China and the US worsened, with China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying blasting Washington for not offering any concrete help to China, but instead, what he called overreacting to the situation, and creating panic. The US was the first country to withdraw its consular staff from Wuhan. It evacuated its citizens from the city and imposed a partial travel ban on those coming from China.
Terming the US government's move "immoral", the spokeswoman said: "China is aware that the US has said many times it is willing to offer assistance to China. We hope the assistance can be delivered as soon as possible".
In its response on Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defended its "aggressive actions" taken in order to curb the disease from spreading in the US which has reported 11 cases till now.
Not only the US, but several other countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, France and the UK have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan. A temporary travel ban on Chinese nationals and foreigners who recently traveled to China has been imposed by a number of countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, Mongolia, the Philippines and South Korea.
