China coronavirus toll inches closer to 500

Beijing: The toll from the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China has climbed to 490, with 65 new fatalities, while the total number of confirmed cases has gone up to 24,324, the Chinese health authorities confirmed on Wednesday.

According to China's National Health Commission, by the end of Tuesday, a total of 490 people had died after being infected and 24,324 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions.

The dramatic measures taken by China to rein in the deadly new coronavirus outbreak have prevented significant spread abroad, providing a "window of opportunity" to halt transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Chinese health authorities on Wednesday said it received reports of 3,887 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 65 deaths on Tuesday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

All of the deaths are in Hubei Province, according to China's National Health Commission, Xinhua news agency reported.

The commission added that 3,219 patients remained in severe condition, and 23,260 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 892 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 2,52,154 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 18,457 were discharged from medical observation on Tuesday, with 185,555 others still under medical observation.

By the end of Tuesday, 18 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), including one death, ten in the Macao SAR and 11 in Taiwan.

India has also issued a travel advisory urging people not to visit China. The government also temporarily suspended e-visa facilities for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in China.