China Reports Zero Local COVID-19 Transmission for 1st Time

China’s National Health Commission announced on Thursday that there had been no new infections in the country’s central city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The commission, however, said the number of cases imported from abroad had surged by a record 34, mainly from Spain and Britain.

The number of new deaths from the pathogen across the vast Asian country was down to single digits, with just eight reported, bringing the total death toll to 3,245.

Data released by the commission also showed that 23 new suspected cases had been reported, with the total number of infections standing at 80,928. A total of 70,420 patients have recovered.

The coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease called COVID-19, first emerged in Wuhan late last year. It has been practically contained in China but is spreading rapidly around the globe.

South Korea reports rebound in new cases

South Korea on Thursday reported a jump in new coronavirus cases, reversing days of a lowering pace in new infections, after a new outbreak emerged in a nursing home in the hardest-hit city of Daegu, southeast of Seoul.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said there had been a total 152 new confirmed cases, taking the national tally to 8,565. Ninety seven of the new cases were from Daegu, including 74 patients at a nursing home.

South Korea had recorded fewer than 100 new infections for four consecutive days until Wednesday.

As part of measures to stem the pandemic, South Korean authorities have begun to tighten border controls for all arrivals from overseas, with incoming passengers undergoing body temperature checks and completing health surveys on arrival at the Incheon International Airport.

Italy records biggest single-day jump in deaths 

Italy, the worst-hit by the coronavirus in Europe, on Wednesday reported nearly 500 new deaths from the contagion, the highest one-day official toll of any country throughout the world since the first case was detected in China.

Head of the Italian Civil Protection Service Angelo Borrelli announced 475 new deaths from the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 2,978, more than half of all the cases recorded outside China.

The country of 60 million has so far recorded 34.2 percent of all the deaths officially attributed to the coronavirus across the globe.