China's foremost medical adviser on the outbreak, Zhong Nanshan, said the numbers of new cases were falling in some provinces, and forecast the epidemic would peak this month. Total infections in China have hit 44,653, say health officials, including 2,015 new confirmed cases on Tuesday. The biggest cluster of cases outside China is aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan's port of Yokohama, with about 3,700 people on board. The pathogen has been named COVID-19 - CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease and 19 for the year it emerged. World stocks, which had seen rounds of sell-offs over the virus, surged to record highs on hopes of a peak in cases.

Source: The Star February 12, 2020 10:18 UTC