(TibetanReview.net, Feb19’20) – China’s National Health Commission has said Feb 19 that the daily number of newly recovered Covid-19 patients had surpassed that of new confirmed infections for the first time. A total of 1,824 people walked out of hospital after recovery on Feb 18, which is higher than the day’s number of newly confirmed infections, which was 1,749, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Feb 19. However the number of deaths saw a sharp increase on Feb 18 at 136, compared to 93 the day before, and the situation continues to be grim.
Hubei Province accounted for 1,693 of the new confirmed cases and 132 of the deaths on Feb 18, said another Xinhua report Feb 19.
The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 74,185 by the end of Feb 18, including 61,682 in Hubei, and 2,004 people had died of the disease thus far, said yet another Xinhua report Feb 19.
The commission was cited as saying 11,977 patients were in severe condition and that a total of 5,248 people were suspected to be infected with the virus.
Those under medical observation totaled 135,881, the report added.
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Eight province-level regions, including Shanghai, in Chinese mainland reported zero new infections on Feb 18, reported the official chinadaily.com.cn Feb 19, adding the other regions were Hainan, Qinghai, Guizhou, Tibet (Autonomous Region), Xinjiang, Liaoning and Gansu.
Chinese media also said the number of new confirmed cases in the mainland outside Hubei, the epicenter province of the outbreak, had dropped for 15 straight days.
Nevertheless, another chinadaily.com.cn report Feb 19 said the situation concerning the spread of the novel coronavirus infection in mainland China continued to be grim.
Citing the city’s publicity authority, the report noted that Huanggang, one of the hardest hit cities in Hubei Province, was still confronting “critical shortages” of medical supplies and medics.
The report also noted that in Huangshi, another city in Hubei Province, while the recovery rate had reached almost 21 percent, the proportion of patients in serious and critical condition was rising and had reached almost 13 percent.
With supply and demand of medical supplies barely even, “the situation remains grim,” the report quoted Mayor Wu Jin as saying.
