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The death toll in the Coronavirus outbreak in China has now reached more than 1 000, after 108 people died from the virus on Monday, the highest daily toll since the outbreak began late last year.

The total number of deaths on the mainland was 1 016, the National Health Commission said yesterday.

There were 2 478 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 42 638.

In his first public appearance since the outbreak began in the central city of Wuhan, Chinese President Xi Jinping told people in China they “must have confidence” that the country will win its battle against the Coronavirus epidemic.

Two deaths have been recorded outside mainland China — one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

At least 25 countries have confirmed cases and several nations have evacuated their citizens from Hubei. 

A second plane carrying 185 Canadian evacuees from Wuhan has landed at an air-force base in Trenton, Ontario, CBC news reported.

General Motors’ South Korean unit said that it plans to suspend production at one of its factories on February 17 and 18, becoming the latest automaker affected by a Chinese parts shortage stemming from the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The affected line, located in the city of Bupyeong near Seoul, produces the Chevrolet Trailblazer crossover for export to the United States and other markets and domestic sales, she said.

Franco-British biotech company Novacyt says it can offer a Coronavirus test that is faster than rival methods by focusing on a narrow sequence of DNA coding, as it fights stiff competition to turn the outbreak into a business opportunity.

Novacyt shares have risen by almost 400 percent so far this year after it said it had designed a test able to detect the coronavirus in less than two hours. Current testing, which can also identify other strains, can take up to a day.

The test has not received regulatory approval but Novacyt hopes to receive a green light from the European Union next week and has applied to the United States’ Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.

Malaysia is crafting a stimulus package for tourism, retail and aviation industries, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said, after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

“Today’s meeting discussed specifically the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak on the country’s economic growth,” the ministry said in a statement. “Among the sectors identified are the services sectors such as the tourism, retail and aviation industries.”

Two Japanese citizens evacuated from Wuhan have been diagnosed with the infection after initially testing negative, the health ministry said.

The coronavirus outbreak poses a “very grave threat for the rest of the world”, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in an appeal for sharing virus samples and accelerating research into drugs and vaccines.

“With 99 percent of cases in China, this remains very much an emergency for that country, but one that holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in opening remarks to a meeting of more than 400 researchers and national authorities, including some participating by video conference from mainland China and Taiwan. — AFP