China confirms another 5090 new coronavirus cases while the NHS warns more may need to self-isolate

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 14 Feb 2020 • 8:33

Coronavirus cases rise sharply with global death toll now almost 1,400-Health workers test passers by with an electronic thermometer

The coronavirus outbreak in China has now claimed 1,380 lives as the number of cases of COVID-19 jumped overnight to 63,581.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the huge jump in cases in Hubei, bringing the total to more than 60,000 worldwide, was due to a change in the way Chinese authorities were counting them.

Cases, where doctors have seen chest infection on a CT scan, are now being classed as coronavirus rather than just those confirmed by a lab test result, leading to a 254 rise in deaths to a total of 1,370 since the outbreak began. All but two of the deaths have been in China.

The news comes as travel firms reveal UK holidaymakers are shunning trips to the Far East because of the outbreak.

The health authority said an accumulated total of 63,851 people have been infected by the coronavirus

Customers who had already booked trips to mainland China before the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against all but essential travel to the country are being offered a full refund.

In Vietnam, the authorities announced the lockdown of the commune of Son Loi, a farming region about 25 miles from Hanoi, for 20 days. Checkpoints were set up around the commune and health officials wearing protective suits sprayed disinfectant on vehicles.

Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, said on Thursday that many more people in the UK may need to self-isolate to contain the illness, which has been officially named Covid-19.