South Korea, Iran report first virus deaths3Photo© hindustantimes.com

South Korea, Iran report first virus deaths

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China on Thursday touted a big drop in new virus infections as proof its epidemic control efforts are working, but the toll grew abroad with deaths in Japan and South Korea.

Fatalities in China hit 2,118 as 114 more people died, but health officials reported the lowest number of new cases in nearly a month, including in hardest-hit Hubei province. However, Beijing said it has again changed the method of counting patients and will now include only those diagnosed by sophisticated laboratory testing. It is the second time in just eight days that the country has revised its criteria — a move that could muddle statistics and complicate efforts to track the spread of the illness.

More than 74,000 people have been infected by the virus in China, and hundreds more in over 25 countries. The number of deaths outside mainland China climbed to 11.