Coronavirus death toll hits 1,100 and 45,000 infected

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1,100 people and infected over 45,000 people worldwide but the number of new cases fell for a second straight day, as the World Health Organization urged global unity to combat the “grave threat”.

As Beijing scrambles to contain the virus, the number of people infected on a cruise ship off Japan’s coast rose to 174 — the biggest cluster outside the Chinese mainland.

Another 97 people died in China, raising the national toll to 1,113, while more than 44,600 people have now been infected by the newly named COVID-19.

The WHO decided to name the virus COVID-19 in keeping with guidelines aimed to avoid linking a disease to an animal or a geographic location.

Addressing scientists at the first international conference on combating the virus in Geneva on Tuesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the virus was a “very grave threat”.

But he said there was a “window of opportunity to hit hard and stand in unison to fight this virus in every corner.”

“We are not defenseless,” Tedros said, adding: “If we invest now… we have a realistic chance of stopping this outbreak.”

“Viruses can have more powerful consequences than any terrorist action,” he told reporters later on the sidelines of the meeting, which will resume Wednesday.

Chinese authorities have locked down tens of millions of people in central Hubei province, the epicenter of the crisis, and restricted movements in several other cities in other parts of the country in an unprecedented effort to contain the virus.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China, while major airlines have halted flights to and from the country, as hundreds of people have now been infected in some two-dozen countries.