KUWAIT, Feb 16 (KUNA) -- The proportion of severe and critical cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has decreased significantly in China, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Sunday.
In Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, the proportion of severe cases among the confirmed cases fell from a peak of 32.4 percent on January 28 to 21.6 percent on February 15, said Mi Feng, the NHC's Spokesman Mi Feng said at a press conference in Beijing.
The proportion in other parts of Hubei Province dropped from a peak of 18.4 percent on January 27 to 11.1 percent on February 15, said Mi.
The percentage in other provinces in China also decreased significantly, falling from a peak of 15.9 percent on January 27 to 7.2 percent on February 15, Mi added.
"These changes have proven the current epidemic prevention and control measures are effective," said Mi.
The authorities and medics are carrying out differentiated measures to ensure that a large number of mild cases are treated in time, reducing the possibility of becoming severe cases, Mi noted.
Meanwhile, China's Hubei Province, the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, announced Sunday a slew of wide-ranging and more stringent measures to prevent and control the epidemic.
The measures include enforcing province-wide traffic restrictions on all non-emergency vehicles and closing all non-essential public venues, according to a provincial government circular.
Taiwan on Sunday reported its first death from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a 61-year-old male living in central Taiwan, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Earlier today, the National Health Commission said it had received reports of 2,009 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 142 deaths on Saturday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
Among the deaths, 139 were in Hubei Province, two in Sichuan, and one in Hunan, according to the National Health Commission. (Pick up previous) mab.mt