China reports 22 new coronavirus deaths taking toll to 3,158

Beijing, March : China has reported 22 new coronavirus deaths, taking the death toll to 3,158, health officials said on Wednesday, as Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first visit to the worst-hit Wuhan city and lauded the authorities and medical staff for "turning the tide" against the deadly epidemic, saying that the initial success has been made in stabilising the situation.

Twenty-four new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 22 deaths have been reported on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Wednesday.

All the 22 deaths were in Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan, the NHC said.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland reached 80,778 by the end of Tuesday, including 3,158 people who died of the disease in the last three months, 16,145 patients undergoing treatment and 61,475 discharged after recovery, it said.

Meanwhile, 31 new suspected cases were reported taking the total number to 285, it said.

With COVID-19 gradually abating in the country, China has now turned its attention to growing number of imported cases as more foreigners and locals started arriving in Beijing and different cities to join duties.

Iran announces 63 new virus deaths, taking total to 354

Iran on Wednesday reported 63 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day toll in the three weeks since the Islamic republic announced the first deaths from the outbreak.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran is one of the deadliest outside China, where the disease originated.

"Based on new lab results, we have identified 958 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the country, bringing the total number of cases to 9,000," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised news conference.

"Unfortunately in the past 24 hours, we have had reports of 63 deaths and overall 354 have lost their lives" to the virus, he added.

The capital Tehran had the most new infections with 256 cases.

The central province of Isfahan followed with 170, and Semnan, to the east of Tehran, had 63.

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Bushehr as well as Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad in the southwest had no new cases.

Iran announced its first coronavirus deaths, in the Shiite holy city of Qom, on February 19.

They have closed schools and universities and resorted to shutting hotels and other tourist accommodation to discourage travel.

US COVID-19 toll reaches 29, task force readies for tougher measures

The Trump administration's leading infectious diseases specialist on the White House coronavirus task force said that it is time for the nation to understand that going about business as usual is unviable and public health policy will have to "interfere" with natural flow of the outbreak to blunt the effects of the virus which has already killed 29 Americans.

The total number of confirmed cases in the US ballooned to more than 700. New Jersey and South Dakota reported their first coronavirus deaths Tuesday.

"As a nation, we can't be doing the kinds of things we were doing a few months ago. It doesn't matter if you're in a state that has no cases or one case, you have to start taking seriously what you can do now, that if and when the infections will come and they will come. Sorry to say, sad to say they will," said Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a White House briefing Tuesday.

"Keeping the workplace safe, keeping the home safe, keeping the school safe and keeping commercial establishments safe. This should be universal for the country," Fauci said.

The US government continues to underline extra precautions for those at the highest risk: "people with immunodeficiencies at any age, people with medical conditions, and the elderly".

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