THE death toll from the novel coronavirus surged past 900 in mainland China today, overtaking global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, even as the World Health Organisation said the outbreak appeared to be stabilising.

With 91 more people dying – most in Hubei, the province at the centre of the outbreak – the toll is now higher than the 774 killed worldwide by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), according to official figures.

The latest data came after the WHO said the last four days had seen “some stabilising” in Hubei but warned the figures can still “shoot up”.

A WHO “international expert mission” left yesterday for China, the agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter. The mission is led by Bruce Aylward, a veteran of previous health emergencies.

Almost 39,800 people in China have now been infected by the virus, believed to have emerged late last year in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, where residents are struggling to get daily supplies.

The epidemic has prompted the government to lock down whole cities as anger mounts over its handling of the crisis – especially after a whistle-blowing doctor fell victim to the virus.

With much of the country still not back at work after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, cities including financial hub Shanghai ordered residents to wear masks in public.

Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said the “stable period” of the outbreak “may reflect the impact of the control measures”.

While the death toll has climbed steadily, new cases have declined since Wednesday’s single-day peak of nearly 3,900 people nationwide.

Yesterday, the number of new cases was just more than 2,600.

Millions of people are under lockdown in Hubei in a bid to stop the virus spreading.

“The local government asked people to stay at home as much as possible, but there is not enough goods in shops each time we get there, so we have to go out frequently,” a woman in Wuhan, surnamed Wei, told AFP.

Wang Bin, from the ministry of commerce, said challenges included poor logistics, price increases and labour shortages.

In Hubei, there’s a five-day supply of pork and eggs, and a three-day supply of vegetables, he said. – AFP, February 10, 2020.