China admits ‘shortcomings’ as coronavirus death toll hits 425

The death toll in China from the deadly coronavirus outbreak that originated in the central city of Wuhan, rose to at least 425 on Monday, as China admitted "shortcomings and difficulties" in its response to the outbreak.

The National Health Commission said there were 64 new fatalities on Monday - the biggest daily increase since the virus was first detected in Wuhan late last year. The city, and the surrounding province of Hubei, which have been effectively sealed off from the rest of the country for more than a week, reports Aljazeera.

There are now 20,438 people confirmed to have the infection.

Other countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from Hubei province and its capital city, Wuhan, while many have also imposed extraordinary travel restrictions on travellers to and from China.

About 150 cases have been reported in two dozen other countries, with the United States reporting the second case of human-to-human transmission on Monday.