China confirms 5,974 virus cases, exceeding nation's SARS total

(Agence France-Presse)

January 29, 2020 - 9:37am

A mother (L) of a child (R) held by his father (C) adjust his protective mask to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in Wuhan peaks through a plastic curtain at the Beijing railway station in Beijing on January 27, 2020. China on January 27 extended its biggest national holiday to buy time in the fight against a viral epidemic and neighbouring Mongolia closed its border, after the death toll spiked to 81 despite unprecedented quarantine measures.

AFP/Nicolas Asfouri

WUHAN, China — The number of confirmed cases in the new virus outbreak in China reached 5,974 on Wednesday, overtaking the number of people infected in the mainland by the SARS epidemic in 2002-3.

China's national health commission reported more than 1,400 confirmed new cases on Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 132.

There were 5,327 confirmed cases in mainland China during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic.

That outbreak killed more than 770 people globally, including 349 in mainland China.

Some experts have praised Beijing for being more reactive and open about the new virus compared to its handling of the SARS crisis.

But others say local officials had earlier been more focused on projecting stability than responding to the outbreak when it began to spread earlier this month.

Japan and the US evacuated nationals from hard-hit Wuhan city at the centre of the outbreak on Wednesday.

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