Novel coronavirus death toll @1800

The death toll from the novel coronavirus has reached 1,873, as almost half of China’s 1.3 billion-strong population remain subject to varying forms of travel restrictions and other quarantine measures.

On Tuesday, Liu Zhiming, director of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, himself died of the virus, according to a statement released by local government authorities.Liu was a neurosurgeon and is the first hospital director to die as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. His death could renew criticism that the government has not done enough to protect frontline medical workers, many of whom are overworked and overstretched. Also on Tuesday, state media reported that doctors and nurses who die while trying to contain the outbreak will officially be designated as “martyrs.”