BEIJING: The death toll from China’s deadly novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak passed 1,000 on Tuesday after President Xi Jinping called for more “decisive” measures to tackle the outbreak in a rare visit to a frontline hospital. The fatalities soared after hardest-hit Hubei province – the epicentre of the outbreak – reported another 103 deaths on Tuesday, the highest single-day toll since the virus emerged. Xi has largely kept out of the public eye since the virus outbreak spiralled across the country from Hubei province to infect more than 42,000 people. People line up to buy protective face masks amid concerns of the novel coronavirus outbreak that originated in central China, outside a shop in Hanoi. Aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan, another 65 people were diagnosed with novel coronavirus, the health ministry said, bringing the total number of known infections on the ship to 135.

Source: New Strait Times February 11, 2020 00:22 UTC