China reports 52 more coronavirus deaths, lowest in three weeks

[BEIJING] China on Wednesday reported 52 new coronavirus deaths, the lowest figure in more than three weeks, bringing the death toll to 2,715.

All the new deaths were in the outbreak epicentre of Hubei province, which accounted for 401 of the 406 new infections reported Wednesday, the National Health Commission said.

The number of fresh cases has declined in China, with multiple provinces reporting zero new infections in recent days.

Only five cases were reported outside the epicentre, the lowest in over a month.

But the disease, which originated in Hubei's capital Wuhan late last year and has infected over 78,000 in China, has now reached dozens of countries.

South Korea's death toll rose to 11 on Wednesday, as the country's total number of infections rose to 1,146, by far the largest outside of China.

Italy - which has reported 10 deaths and more than 300 cases - has locked down 11 towns. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said the measures could last weeks.

While Beijing's containment efforts initially focused on monitoring and restricting travel within the country, concern is growing that cases abroad could reintroduce new outbreaks into China.

Authorities in the city of Nanjing quarantined 94 people on a flight arriving from Seoul on Tuesday, after three on the plane were found to have fevers.

AFP