The novel coronavirus (nCoV-2019) that originated in Wuhan, China has killed more people in mainland China than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) did on the mainland when it shook China in the early 2000s, according to Chinese media.
As of the end of the day on Sunday, the number of deaths on the mainland had risen to 361, a figure exceeding the 349 deaths on the mainland caused by SARS. The number of infected in all of China is up to more than 17,200, a figure which vastly exceeds the case count recorded by the World Health Organization for China during the 2003 SARS outbreak.
Chinese state-linked CGTN reports that over 480 infected people have since recovered.
While the Wuhan coronavirus appears to be less deadly than its predecessor, which killed more than 6 percent of all who were infected in mainland China, the situation could change.
The virus has already spread across China and to around two dozen countries. But the area hit hardest is Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the provincial capital.
China has been fighting to get the situation under control. Whole cities have been shut down to slow the spread, and makeshift hospitals have been constructed in a matter of days. In some cases, drastic measures have been taken to prevent the current situation from worsening.
On Saturday, the National Health Commission, together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, issued trial guidelines that ordered immediate cremation of deceased victims of the Wuhan coronavirus without funerals.
The first person to succumb to the virus outside of mainland China died in the Philippines Saturday. The World Health Organization has declared the present situation a global health emergency.
