Death Toll From Coronavirus Hits 780, Exceeds SARS Fatalities

The death toll from the deadly Coronavirus has risen to 780, thereby exceeding that of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in 2003 by six.
In 2003, 774 people were killed by Sars in more than two dozen countries.
According to officials, all but two of the overall total of deaths from Coronavirus have so far been in mainland China.
Majority of the death has been recorded in the city of Wuhan located China’s Hubei province alone, regarded as the epicentre of the disease.
China’s National Health Commission in its latest statement reported 81 new fatalities in the Hubei province alone on Saturday.
On Thursday, a 60-year-old US citizen – the first confirmed non-Chinese victim of the illness – died in Wuhan’s Jinyintan Hospital.
A Japanese citizen was also confirmed to have been killed by the virus on Saturday.
There now have been 801 deaths in China, with one each in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
More than 34,800 people have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide, which is believed to have emerged in a market selling wild animals in Wuhan last year.