Coronavirus cases top 20,000 as death toll climbs past 400 in China
China reported a large spike in coronavirus cases and deaths as of Tuesday morning, with the numbers of those infected climbing past 20,000 and the death toll reaching 425, according to China’s National Health Commission.
The newly reported 3,235 confirmed cases of the infection include 2,345 in Hubei province, where the virus originated, and include a 1-month-old baby in southwestern Guizhou province, CNN reports.
A spokesperson for the commission told CNN that 80 percent of victims of the virus were over the age of 60 and 75 percent had some form of an underlying condition.
The health commission reports that 632 patients have been “cured” and discharged from the hospital while 2,788 patients remain in serious condition.
The virus originated in Wuhan, China, but has spread across the country and beyond. There have only been two reported deaths outside of China.
U.S. officials have reported 11 confirmed cases in the U.S. as of Sunday and the State Department has urged Americans not to travel to China during the outbreak.
Last week the White House announced that it was forming a task force to monitor the virus and the World Health Organization declared the virus a global health emergency.
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