The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus in other countries has surpassed those inside China for the first time, according to an interactive map tracking the outbreak of the virus from Johns Hopkins University.
China, where the first cluster of coronavirus patients was discovered late last year, has reported 3,217 deaths, including four in Hong Kong. Globally, the number of deaths stands at 3,296 outside of China, including one in Taiwan, according to the tracker’s latest count.
Infection cases reported by countries outside China reached 88,367, overtaking the 81,020 in China. Italy accounts for the most deaths and new cases among countries outside China, with 1,809 and 24,747, respectively. Iran and Spain, the worst-hit countries after Italy, have reported 724 and 292 deaths, respectively, and 21,844 cases combined.
The US so far has reported 3,774 cases and 69 deaths. While New York state accounts for the majority of the cases, Washington state has the most number of reported deaths.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on March 14 that Europe is the new epicenter of the pandemic.
The latest statistics point to the rapidly changing dynamics in the trajectory of the deadly Covid-19 disease. After an initial cover-up of the outbreak, which saw the Chinese government delay announcing the discovery of the virus and silencing whistleblowers and critics, Beijing moved to impose aggressive measures to restrict people’s movements and lock down cities, actions that the WHO has repeatedly praised. The number of new cases reported in China have dropped from thousands per day in mid-February to just 16 yesterday—four of which were in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and the rest imported from outside of China.