China coronavirus toll rises to 2,345

Beijing: The overall death toll in mainland China due to the deadly coronavirus has increased to 2,345, while the number of confirmed cases reached 76,288, health authorities said on Saturday.

The country's National Health Commission said that it received reports of 397 new confirmed and 109 deaths on Friday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Xinhua news agency.

Among the deaths, 106 were in Hubei province and one each in Hebei Province, Shanghai and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Another 1,361 new suspected cases were reported Friday, said the Commission.

Also on Friday, 2,393 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 156 to 11,477.

The commission added that 5,365 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 20,659 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

As of Saturday morning, the number of confirmed cases outside China was reported in Japan (727), South Korea (346), Singapore (86), Hong Kong (69), Thailand (35), Taiwan (26), Malaysia (22), Iran (18), Italy (17), Australia (17), Germany (16), Vietnam (16), the US (16), France (12), Macau (10), the UK (nine), the UAE (nine), Canada (nine), India (three), the Philippines (three), Russia (two), Spain (two), Israel (one), Egypt (one), Lebanon (one), Cambodia (one), Finland (one), Nepal (one), Sri Lanka (one), Sweden (one) and Belgium (one), according to figures published by the South China Morning Post.

The deaths outside China were recorded in Iran (four), Japan (three), South Korea (two), Hong Kong (two), Italy (one), France (one) and the Philippines (one).