BEIJING, China — The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 2,000 on Wednesday after 132 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. In its daily update, the province's health commission also reported 1,693 new cases of people infected with the virus. Related Stories LIVE updates: Novel coronavirus in the PhilippinesThis brings the total number of cases in mainland China past 74,000. Most of the cases are in Hubei, where the virus first emerged in December before spiralling into a nationwide epidemic. Wednesday's jump in the death toll was an increase on Tuesday's figures, although the number of new cases reported in Hubei were the lowest for a week.

Source: Philippine Star February 19, 2020 00:33 UTC