China's Wuhan Pneumonia Death Toll Rises to 3...136 New Cases Confirmed in Two Days (Update)

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] China is in an emergency state ahead of the Lunar New Year mass migration starting this week due to the spread of the Wuhan pneumonia.

On the 20th, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announced on its website that as of 10 p.m. the previous night, the cumulative number of patients infected with the novel coronavirus, so-called 'Wuhan pneumonia,' was 198. Among them, 25 have recovered, and 3 have died. The remaining 170 are currently isolated and receiving treatment in hospitals. There are 126 mild cases, 35 severe cases, and 9 critical severe cases, indicating the possibility of additional deaths soon.

With the introduction of new testing equipment, 136 confirmed cases were added over two days (the 18th and 19th) during the weekend. Among these 136 patients, 100 are mild cases, 33 severe cases, 2 critical severe cases, and 1 death.

The Wuhan health authorities stated that, as the number of newly confirmed patients increased, they are conducting in-depth epidemiological investigations and are focusing on tracing and investigating people who had contact with these patients.

Currently, the number of close contacts of novel coronavirus patients is 817, of whom 727 have been released from medical observation as they showed no particular related symptoms, and 90 are still under observation. Health authorities stated that no transmission cases have occurred among close contacts so far.