Health officials in China have published the first details of more than 44,000 cases of the new coronavirus, in the biggest study since the outbreak began.
According to data from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC), more than 80 per cent of the cases have been mild, with the sick and elderly most at risk.
The research also points to the high risk to medical staff.
A hospital director in the city of Wuhan died from the virus on Tuesday.
Fifty one year old Liu Zhiming was the director of the Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan – one of the leading hospitals in the virus epicentre.
He is one of the most senior health officials to die so far.
Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, is the worst affected province in the country.
The report by the CCDC shows the province’s death rate is 2.9 per cent, compared with 0.4 per cent in the rest of the country.
The findings put the overall death rate from the coronavirus at 2.3 per cent.
China’s latest official figures, released Tuesday, put the overall death toll at 1,868, with 72,436 infections.
Officials reported 98 new deaths and 1,886 new cases in the last day, with 93 of those deaths and 1,807 infections in Hubei province.
More than 12,000 people have recovered.
Yeah right. I believe in nothing that China publishes. Wicked set of f———rs.