China reports 13 new coronavirus deaths, toll at 3,189

Rajkot, Mar 14: China reported 13 new coronavirus deaths, taking the toll due to the disease to 3,189, while the confirmed cases climbed to 80,824 with 11 more infections, as the country witnessed a rise in imported cases, health officials said on Saturday.

Seven imported cases were reported on the mainland on Friday, taking the total to 95, National Health Commission (NHC) said.

Eleven new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 13 deaths were reported on the Chinese mainland on Friday, NHC said, adding all of the deaths were in the Hubei Province, the epicentre of the disease.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,824 by the end of Friday.

This included 3,189 people who died of the disease, 12,094 patients still undergoing treatment and 65,541 others who were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

By the end of Friday, 137 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in the Macao and 50 in Taiwan including one death, officials said.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Education announced that though the COVID-19 is slowing down, schools won't resume until local authorities put the virus outbreak under control and roll out necessary containment measures.

Wang Dengfeng, director of the ministry's working group on epidemic control, said local authorities shall consult experts before reopening schools and safety of the faculty members should be ensured.

Resumption would be prioritised for the graduating classes in middle and high school, as they were supposed to sit for the high school or college entrance examination in about 80 days, he was quoted as saying by China Central Television.

Wang said that the ministry is seeking advice from related departments as well as representatives of students and parents on whether to postpone the college entrance exams and the decisions will be made soon.

Local authorities are entitled to decide whether to postpone the exam for high school candidates, state-run China Daily reported on Saturday.