A top Chinese minister is predicting victory over the coronavirus outbreak as the number of new cases in the country hits a six-week low, officials said.

The country’s health ministry announced Tuesday that just 125 new COVID-19 cases had been detected over the past 24 hours, the lowest number since authorities started publishing nationwide figures on Jan. 21.

In the infection’s epicenter Hubei province  another 31 deaths were reported, authorities said. In total, 80,151 people have contracted the infection in China and 2,943 have died.

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The country’s UN ambassador said late Monday that “victory” over the virus doesn’t seem to be far behind.

“China’s fight against the coronavirus is indeed making huge progress, and the situation is really becoming stable,” Zhang Jun said during a news conference at UN headquarters.

Meanwhile, the situation in South Korea is growing increasingly direr. The country saw its largest daily increase in new cases Tuesday, with 851 new infections reported, the majority in and around the city of Daegu. A total of 5,186 people in South Korea have tested positive for the virus.

In Iran, where 2,300 people have fallen and 77 have died, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the armed forces to help health officials combat the outbreak.

In Italy, a total of 2,036 people have contracted the bug and 52 have died. Officials say it could take up to two weeks to determine whether quarantines and other containment measures in 11 northern towns have been effective.

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And in Japan, officials continued to grapple Tuesday with whether the Olympics, set to begin on July 24 in Tokyo, can go on as scheduled.

The country is “making the utmost effort” to proceed with the games’ scheduled opening, the country’s Olympic minister, Seiko Hashimoto, said Tuesday. However, she said that the county’s contract with the International Olympic Committee only specifies that the event takes place in 2020 — and can be moved to later in the year if necessary.

In the US, more than 100 people have been infected in at least 11 states. Six people have died in Washington state, including four elderly residents from the same nursing home.

Overall, the world is in “unchartered territory” as the outbreak continues, World Health Organization leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday.

New York Post

Vanguard News