A pedestrian wears a protective mask in Toronto | China continues efforts to contain coronavirus outbreak | Photo Credit: AP

Beijing/New Delhi: China has reported over 1,700 new infections of the novel coronavirus, which has now killed 170 people in the world’s most populous country. The number of confirmed cases in China has now risen to 7,711, with 38 more deaths reported mostly from the worst-affected central Hubei province. India on Thursday also confirmed its first case of coronavirus infection from the Kerala state.

The outbreak of the coronavirus had started from Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, in December and has now spread to many countries across the globe.

According to China's National Health Commission, as of January 29, a total of 7,711 confirmed cases of coronavirus-caused pneumonia were reported from 31 provincial-level regions and Xinjiang. The first case of coronavirus infection has also been confirmed in Tibet. Ten confirmed cases were also reported in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, while seven from Macao Special Administrative Region and eight in Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had earlier this week described the coronavirus as a "demon" which needed to be brought under control. Amid criticism, he vowed to ensure transparency and timeliness in the government’s efforts to release information on the virus.

As part of the containment efforts, China has locked down several cities while extending the New Year Festival holidays until February 2. It has also ordered universities, primary and middle schools, and kindergartens across the country to remain shut until further notice.

Coronavirus global impact

As Chinese authorities make efforts to contain the spread of the virus, many other countries, including India, have made moves to evacuate their citizens stuck in Wuhan and other Chinese cities due to the lockdown imposed there.

Several international airlines, including Air India, British Airways, Lion Air and IndiGo Airlines, have curtailed their operations or suspended their flights to China as a precautionary measure.

While many countries including India, the US, the UK and Germany have issued travel advisories for people travelling to China, Beijing has also asked its nationals not to undertake domestic or foreign travel in view of the epidemic.

Japan, meanwhile, said that three of its nationals evacuated from Wuhan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

First Indian coronavirus case confirmed

Meanwhile, the first case of novel coronavirus infection has been confirmed in India. A student who was studying at Wuhan University in China has been found to be infected in Kerala. As per the details available, the patient is stable and is being closely monitored.

Earlier, the family of an Indian national in Malaysia had claimed that the man has died from coronavirus infection in the Southeast Asian country. According to the family, the 23-year-old man from Tripura, Manir Hossain, had been diagnosed to be infected with the coronavirus. He was in Malaysia since 2018 to work at a restaurant there.

"My 23-year-old grandson had gone to Malaysia around two years ago. We got a phone call from the Malaysian authorities on Wednesday morning, informing us of Hossain's death due to coronavirus," Hossain's grandfather Abdul Rahim was quoted as saying by ANI.

Malaysia's Health Ministry had yesterday confirmed three more coronavirus infections, taking the total to seven. Interestingly, the ministry had stated that all seven are Chinese nationals.

In view of the coronavirus outbreak, India’s national air carrier, Air India yesterday announced the suspension of its Delhi-Shanghai flight from January 31 to February 14. IndiGo Airlines too suspended its flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route from February 1 and on the Delhi-Chengdu route from February 1 to 20.

India is also making arrangements to airlift its nationals from central Hubei province and Wuhan city, the ground zero of the virus outbreak. There are about 23,000 Indian students in China who are studying there.

Coronavirus fears: Global athletics meet postponed

The World Athletics Indoor Championships in China’s Nanjing has been postponed in view of the coronavirus outbreak, organisers said, announcing the new date as March 2021. The event was originally scheduled to be held in Nanjing from March 13-15 this year.

"We know that China is doing all it can to contain the new Coronavirus and we support them in all their efforts but it is necessary to provide our athletes, member federations and partners with a clear way forward in what is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances," World Athletics said in a statement. "The advice from our medical team, who are in contact with the World Health Organisation, is that the spread of the Coronavirus both within China and outside the country is still at a concerning level and no one should be going ahead with any major gathering that can be postponed,” it added.