Coronavirus toll rises to 492, nearly 24,000 confirmed cases

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China reached 492 on Wednesday, as 65 more died in the Hubei province, RT reported citing Chinese state TV.

The confirmed figure of coronavirus affected in China is just shy of 24,000.

The virus was diagnosed first in December in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and has spread to most parts of the world.

According to CNN, two casualties have also been reported outside mainland China.

As the virus spread, Beijing faced global isolation with neighboring countries like North Korea Russia, Mongolia closing its borders with China.

While no reliable treatment currently exists for the virus, a very skewed number of health organisations has had some positive results with a mixture of HIV and other antiviral medicines.

China has been expanding its quarantine zones and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.

Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic as the virus continues to spread, with cases reported in Australia, France, the United States and seven Asian countries besides China.

The US, Australia, and Singapore have temporarily shut their doors to non-citizens who have recently traveled to China. Vietnam has also barred all flights to and from China.