China says 14 more people die of coronavirus

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - China on Monday said 14 more people died of deadly coronavirus on Sunday while 16 new cases were reported on the same day.

National Health Commission of China said the death toll reached 3,213 while number of those infected by the virus known as COVID-19 hit 80,860, Xinhua news reported.

The global death toll has risen to nearly 5,800, with 153,648 confirmed cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the outbreak a pandemic.

China’s health officials added that all the deaths occurred in the Hubei province -- the epi-center of the infection which came to lime light in last December.

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in South Korea said the country is witnessing a slow down in new cases.

A total of 8,236 people were infected by the virus in the country including 74 new cases detected on Sunday, country's health officials said on Monday, according to Yonhap news.

So far, 76 people have died from COVID-19 in South Korea.

Japanese Health Ministry officials said the number of infected people reached 1,500, including around 700 cases which were aboard virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Officials also found 15 clusters of people infected by the virus in Japan, with a confirmed death toll of 22.

The economic fallout due to the epidemic has triggered an emergency meeting of Bank of Japan which discussed steps to ease the business activity with a rise in asset purchases.