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China: 143 new deaths, 2,641 confirmed cases by coronavirus

KUWAIT, Feb 15 (KUNA) -- Chinese authorities on Saturday announced 143 deaths and 2,641 new confirmed coronavirus cases (COVID-19).
In its daily report, the Chinese National Health Committee said that the deaths from coronavirus rose to 1,523, while the confirmed cases reached 66,492.
It also pointed out that among the 139 deaths in central China's Hubei Province were the epicenter of the virus, two deaths in Henan and one in Beijing and another in Chongqing.
It added that 2,277 new-suspected cases were registered, indicating that 849 patients had worsened their health conditions, while 11,053 patients were still in critical condition, while 8,096 patients had been discharged from hospitals after recovering.
For his part, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspected the prevention and control of the virus in Beijing West Railway Station.
Keqiang called for numerous measures to appropriately distribute return flights to Beijing after the Spring Festival holiday ends so as to reduce the chances of the virus being transmitted.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said it has allocated 80.55 billion yuan (USD 11.35 billion) from the funds to support the country's battle against the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
The ministry added that 41 billion yuan (about USD 6.86 billion) has been spent thus far, with the central funds allocated mainly to treating patients, buying medical supplies, supporting public health services, developing vaccines, and building two temporary hospitals in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.
The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that it will expand the use of 5G communications technology in the ongoing battle against the virus outbreak. (end) mab.aa