Bangladesh scraps plans to bring back nationals; death toll rises to 811 in China

The death toll in China due to novel coronavirus surged to 811 on Sunday, surpassing the number of fatalities of the SARS epidemic of 2002-03. SARS had killed 774 people and sickened 8,098, mainly in mainland China and Hong Kong. Overall, the new virus has affected 37,198 people so far. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has scrapped plans to bring back its 171 nationals stuck in China after it failed to arrange a flight following refusal from crew members to fly to the affected country, Dhaka Tribune reported.

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that the UN health agency will send an international mission to China as it received a response from Beijing. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the team leader will leave early next week with the rest of the experts to follow.

In India, at least 3,144 people are under observation in Kerala in the wake of the virus outbreak. The southern state has recorded three positive cases of the new virus, the only confirmed cases in India.

(Inputs from indianexpress)