Coronavirus Live Updates: The U.S. Says It Will Evacuate Americans From Cruise Ship – The New York Times

Most of the new cases and deaths were reported in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the epidemic.

In all, more than 68,500 people have been infected and at least 1,669 have died worldwide, officials say. The vast majority of cases, and all but a few of the deaths, have been in mainland China, with the heaviest concentration in Hubei.

The tally in Hubei jumped drastically on Thursday after the authorities changed the diagnostic criteria for counting new cases. The government now takes into account cases diagnosed in clinical settings, including the use of CT scans, and not just those confirmed with specialized testing kits.

In an interview with the news agency Reuters on Friday, Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, declared that the outbreak was over all, under control.

We have taken the most correct, the most rigorous and decisive measures, he said, rejecting widespread criticism that the authorities had suppressed warnings and restricted vital information in the early days of the outbreak.

The minister also told Reuters that some of the travel restrictions imposed on Chinese citizens by other countries were an overreaction and likely to be eased.

Im sure that those countries are reflecting on this as the situation evolves, he said, adding, because at the end of the day, these countries need to interact with China.

Speaking at the Munich Security Council on Saturday, the director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for vigilance surrounding the coronavirus, but warned against sowing fear and hysteria through false information.

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Coronavirus Live Updates: The U.S. Says It Will Evacuate Americans From Cruise Ship - The New York Times