The number of people who have died from the coronavirus in mainland China has risen to 1,665.
The country has reported a drop in new COVID-19 cases, the medical name for the acute respiratory disease caused by the virus, for the third day in a row.
There were 2,009 new cases in mainland China on Saturday, bringing its total to 68,500, according to the country's National Health Commission.
It has emerged that the country's leadership was aware of the outbreak's potential before the dangers were made public.
Chinese state media published a speech yesterday which President Xi Jinping delivered on February 3rd, during which he said he gave instructions on the fighting the virus as early as January 7th.
The disclosure indicates top leaders knew about the outbreak's potential severity weeks before such dangers were made known to the public.
First death outside Asia
The figures have emerged after an 80-year-old Chinese tourist in Paris became the first person to die from the virus outside Asia.
French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn confirmed the first fatality from the infection in Europe yesterday.
The man, who was from the Chinese province of Hubei, had been receiving treatment in a French hospital since January 25th after arriving nine days earlier.
The man was the fourth death to be reported outside mainland China. The virus has so far spread to more than two dozen countries.
A total of 1,669 people have died from COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
The World Health Organisation has sent a team of 24 health experts to China to investigate how the virus is spreading and its severity.
Meanwhile, in Japan, evacuate American citizens are being evacuated from the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship that has been quarantined off the country's coast.
Around 400 American passengers have been told to decide by this morning whether they will stay or take chartered aircraft arranged by the US government to fly them home.
Reporting by IRN
