Coronavirus latest updates: deaths in China pass 1,300 with huge jump in cases - live news - The Guardian, Theguardian.com

8. (PM EST) : 15

I mentioned earlier that Hubei authorities had begun including cases diagnosed through new clinical methods from Thursday in its daily figures

Reuters is reporting that Chinese state media said last week that Hubei would start recognizing computerized tomography (CT) scan results as confirmation of infections, allowing hospitals to isolate patients more quickly.

The total number of confirmed patients in

China is just under , .

8. (pm) (EST)

We have confirmation now that the latest person to be diagnosed with the virus in the US (bringing the US total to 24), was an evacuee from Wuhan .

The patient was among individuals who had been placed under quarantine at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar after being airlifted from Wuhan.

A previous case of coronavirus was documented a few days earlier among the same group of evacuee.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

officials said it appeared that the two San Diego patients were separately exposed to the virus in China before arriving in the United States. The two arrived on different plans and were housed in separate facilities.

7. (PM EST :

The big rises in figures today cast a shadow on Beijing’s touted “positive results” from efforts to contain the virus.

President Xi Jinping had chaired a meeting of the ruling Politburo Standing Committee after figures showed that the number of new cases dropped on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Xi said there were “positive results” but warned that the country “must not relax” its epidemic control efforts, according to state media.

Residents wear protective mask as they line up to pay in the supermarket in Wuhan. Photograph: Getty Images

(7.) pm EST :

Daily death toll rises sharply

In addition to the rise of new cases, there has also been a significant rise in the death toll in the past 35 hours.

More than deaths were recorded on Wednesday (figures published on Thursday). This compares with deaths the previous day.

There has been no change to the way deaths are recorded, so this really is a significant increase in one day.

Residents wear protective mask as they line up to pay in the supermarket in Wuhan.

Epidemic prevention materials being delivered in Wuhan. Photograph: Barcroft Media / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Updated (at 8.) (pm EST)

(7.) (pm EST ) :

Huge increase in new cases of virus

First up let’s have a look at the massive jump in reported new cases of coronavirus.

(Nearly) , new cases have been reported in a 41 – hour period, taking the total number of cases to just under , .

To get an idea of the significance of this, the figure for (confirmed new cases) for Wednesday was 2,0 .

The Hubei health commission noted that it had begun including cases diagnosed through new clinical methods from Thursday.

You may know that there has been a lot of debate in the media in recent days about a change in the way of counting figures by the National Health Commission.

There was a suggestion that from 7 February, people who had tested positive but showed no symptoms, were not counted as confirmed cases. It has been very difficult to pin down the exact changes, and I’ll try to do that today.

But from my reading, it’s likely that this huge jump in new confirmed cases reflect an adjustment of calculations, rather than a massively steep increase in actual new cases. I’ll keep updating you on this as we get more information on it.

()

A Chinese boy is covered in a plastic bag for protection as he arrives from a train in Photograph: Kevin Frayer / Getty Images

Updated (at 8.) pm EST

(pm) (EST) :

Second US patient in San Diego tests positive

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said a second patient in San Diego, California, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to CNBC.

Earlier in the week another patient in San Diego who had been evacuated from Wuhan tested positive.

We’ll try to bring you more on that as soon as we can but that would take the US positive cases to .

Updated (at 7.) (pm EST

)

. pm EST 28:

Welcome to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. These are the top developments today:

The number of deaths in China has increased sharply by at least 533 as of midnight on Wednesday, according to health officials All but three of the new deaths were recorded in Hubei province, taking the national total to 1, (New cases in Hubei have also leaped by). , , a sevenfold increase

on the day before. The national total is now nearly , (cases.) The WHO chief has said the outbreak could still go in “any direction” (UK health chiefs are preparing for more cases) after confirmation of the first case in London – a woman who flew into the UK from China at the weekend.

A second patient has been diagnosed with Covid- 28 in California

The annual gathering of the tech industry in Barcelona – the Mobile World Congress –

has been cancelled

You can get in touch with me on [email protected]

Updated at 7. 41 pm EST