Virus death toll nears 1,400 in China, with 5,090 new cases

Peoria, IL, USA 1470 & 100.3 WMBD

Feb 14, 2020 | 5:54 AM

In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, doctors scan a patient's lungs at Huoshenshan temporary hospital built for patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Mainland China has reported another rise in cases of the new virus after a sharp decline the previous day, while the number of deaths grow over 900, with at least two more outside the country. (Gao Xiang/Xinhua via AP)

BEIJING (AP) – China has reported another sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new virus, as the death toll neared 1,400.

The National Health Commission said Friday that 121 more people had died and there were 5,090 new confirmed cases. The number of reported cases has been rising more quickly after the hardest hit province changed the way it is counting them Thursday.

There are now 63,851 confirmed cases in mainland China, of which 1,380 have died.

Hubei province is now including cases based on a physician’s diagnosis and before they have been confirmed by lab tests. Of the 5,090 new cases, 3,095 fell into that category.