New coronavirus is 'preventable and treatable': China health official

BEIJING: The novel coronavirus that has killed more than 1,700 people in China is "preventable and treatable", an official from the country's National Health Commission told Reuters on Monday.

Guo Yanhong, a hospital administration supervisor at the commission, made the remarks at a daily press conference, in which she also said the percentage of infected patients in virus epicentre Wuhan who are critically ill had dropped to 18% now from 38% at the beginning of the outbreak.

China reported 105 new deaths due to the coronavirus on Monday, increasing the overall death toll to 1,770.


The National Health Commission said 2,048 new cases of the virus have been confirmed, taking the total number of infected cases to 70,548, Xinhua news agency reported.