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CORONAVIRUS: China death toll climbs to 361 as countries evacuate citizens from epicenter of outbreak

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CORONAVIRUS: China death toll climbs to 361 as countries evacuate citizens from epicenter of outbreak

The death toll arising from the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus which has quickly spread across the globe has risen from 304 victims to 361 people as at the last count, health officials in China say.

According to the Chinese government, the number rose to 361 on Monday hours after the Philippines became the first country outside China to confirm a death from the infection.

The National Health Commission said there were 57 new fatalities on Sunday, all but one of them in Hubei, which has been effectively sealed off from the rest of the country for more than a week.

Meanwhile, countries are making frantic efforts to evacuate their citizens from Hubei province and its capital city, Wuhan, while many have also imposed extraordinary travel restrictions on travelers to and from China.

READ ALSO: Philippines records first case of coronavirus as death toll in China hits 304

Reports say Russia’s aerospace defence forces, part of the armed forces, will start evacuating Russian citizens from Wuhan and Hubei.

There are more than 600 Russians there, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova has said.

The United States is planning “a handful more flights” to bring back US citizens from China’s Hubei province hit by the outbreak of a new coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

“We might be bringing citizens home from other countries as well,” he told a briefing during a visit to Uzbekistan. “In addition, we might bring in some medical supplies.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne said 243 citizens and permanent residents were evacuated from Wuhan on Monday on a government-chartered aircraft to Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory just south of the Indonesian island of Java.

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