CORONAVIRUS: WHO warns against overreaction to outbreak as death toll hits 1,868

China health authorities in latest update concerning the death toll arising from the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus say it has climbed from 1,800 to 1,868 with an additional 1,886 new infections across the country.

Officials say the new infections were recorded mostly from Hubei, bringing the nationwide total to at least 72,436 in an update that comes after the director of Wuhan Wuchang Hospital, died on Tuesday morning after he was infected by the virus, becoming one of the latest fatalities of the epidemic.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has warned against a global overreaction to the new coronavirus epidemic following panic-buying, event cancellations, and concerns about cruise ship travel.

The WHO, which has previously said travel restrictions were unnecessary, rejected the suggestion that all cruises should be halted.

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“Measures should be taken proportional to the situation. Blanket measures may not help,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

In a related development, Japan said Monday that it would cancel a public gathering to celebrate the birthday of the new Emperor Naruhito, as fears grow over the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.

“In light of various situations, we have decided to cancel the visit by the general public to the palace for His Majesty’s birthday,” the imperial household agency said in a statement a day after the government warned people to avoid crowds and “non-essential gatherings.”

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