China reports 12 new coronavirus infections including 8 imported cases

China on April 19 recorded just 12 new coronavirus cases in the country, the National Health Commission said in its daily briefing. According to reports, out of the total 12 infections, eight cases were imported, while the other four were local infections. Media reports suggest that three local cases came from the country's northeastern border province of Heilongjiang and one came from Inner Mongolia. As per reports, China had recorded 16 new cases of coronavirus a day earlier, of which nine cases had foreign links. 

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China on April 19 also reported 49 asymptomatic cases, compared to 44 a day earlier. Asymptomatic cases are apparently more dangerous because patients despite contracting the virus fail to show any symptoms and unknowingly spread the disease to others. China has reportedly been able to bend its curve and control the outbreak to an extent. The total number of infections in the country hasn't recorded a surge for the fast few weeks, keeping it constant at just over 82,000. Meanwhile, the number of deaths, which was also constant for a few weeks, surprisingly rose by 50 per cent on April 17 taking the toll from nearly 3,300 to 4,632.

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According to data by worldometer, there are currently 1,031 active infections in China, of which 81 remain under critical condition. China has successfully treated more than 77,000 patients so far. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak has infected over 2.41 million people globally and has killed nearly 1,65,000 patients since it first broke out in December 2019. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. The United States, Italy, Spain, France, Iran and the United Kingdom are currently the most affected countries in the world. 

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(Image Credit: AP)