According to the NHC, 24,734 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital. There still remained 77,150 confirmed cases, including 9,915 in serious condition.

The first confirmed death was a 61-year-old man on 9 January 2020 who was first admitted to a Wuhan hospital on 27 December 2019.

On the other hand, 27 deaths from coronavirus have occurred outside of mainland China, most of those involving people who had a direct link to the country.

The first death outside China occurred in the Philippines, when a 44-year-old Chinese male citizen developed severe pneumonia and died on 1 February. His companion, a 38-year-old Chinese female citizen was also confirmed to have contracted the virus, but eventually recovered. She stayed in the same hospital in Manila as her companion until her discharge on 8 February. On February 8, it was announced that a Japanese and an American died from the virus in Wuhan. They were the first non-Chinese killed by the virus.

The first death outside Asia was confirmed in Paris, France, on February 15, when an 80-year-old Chinese tourist from Hubei died after being in hospital since 25 January. On February 19, two elderly Japanese citizens who had been on the Diamond Princess died after being hospitalized for a week after they had tested positive for the virus, while a third elderly Japanese citizen died on February 23.

A 78-year-old Italian man in Veneto died on February 21, while on the following day a 75-year-old woman died in Lombardy. An Italian woman died on February 23 in Lombardy.

Iranian officials confirmed the eighth coronavirus related death in the country, out of 43 confirmed cases.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan city, Central China, in December 2019. It is believed to have originated from wild animals, passing to humans due to the wildlife trade and wet markets. The virus spread to other China provinces in early and mid-January 2020, helped by the Chinese new year migration.

WHO declared the new coronavirus outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 31. (ILKHA)