China coronavirus death toll rises to 170; confirmed cases soar to 7,711

Chinese President Xi Jinping called the coronavirus a "demon" which should be brought under control.

International News : The nationwide death toll from China's novel coronavirus epidemic has jumped to 170 with 38 more fatalities reported mainly from the worst-affected central Hubei province, the government said on Thursday, while confirming more than 1,700 new infections.

The coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, in December and has now spread across the globe. The Chinese authorities are trying to contain the epidemic while other countries, including India, are working on plans to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called the coronavirus a "demon" which should be brought under control, pledging that the government would be transparent and release information on the virus in a "timely" manner.

China's National Health Commission said on Thursday that 7,711 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions and in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by the end of Wednesday.

A total of 170 people have died of the disease, it said.

It said in its daily report that 1,370 patients remained in critical conditions, and 12,167 people were suspected of being infected with the virus by the end of Wednesday.

A total of 124 people have been discharged from hospital after recovery.

A total of 1,737 new confirmed cases, including the first in Tibet, and 4,148 new suspected cases, and 38 deaths - 37 in Hubei Province and one in Sichuan Province - were reported by Wednesday.