THE number of deaths from China’s new coronavirus epidemic has jumped to at least 722, surpassing the toll from the SARS outbreak on the mainland and Hong Kong almost two decades ago.

Another 86 people have died from the virus, according to the national health commission, with all but five in hard-hit Hubei province, where the disease emerged last December.

In its daily update, the commission confirmed another 3,399 new cases. There are now more than 34,500 confirmed infections across the country.

SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, a disease in the same family as the new virus, left nearly 650 people dead in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-03.

More than 120 others died around the world.

China has struggled to contain the coronavirus despite having placed some 56 million people under effective lockdown in Hubei and its provincial capital, Wuhan.

Other cities far from the epicentre have also taken measures to keep people indoors, limiting the number of individuals who can leave their homes.

The virus has spread to two dozen countries, prompting several governments to ban arrivals from China and urge their citizens to avoid travelling to the country. Some have recommended that their citizens leave China.

Major airlines, too, have suspended flights to and from the country. – AFP, February 8, 2020.