Death toll from China quarantine hotel collapse rises to 20

The death toll from the collapse of a hotel used as a Covid-19 coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China has risen to 20, authorities said on Tuesday, with 10 others still feared trapped in the rubble.

The Ministry of Emergency Management of China came up with the development at a press conference on Tuesday.

State media say the hotel was being used as a quarantine facility monitoring people who had had close contact with coronavirus patients. It's reported 58 of the 71 people in the building were under quarantine.

The building's first floor had been undergoing renovation since before the Lunar New Year, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The global death toll from novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has risen to 4,027 and the number of people infected with the fast-spreading virus now stands at 114,442 worldwide.

The lethal virus has already spread to 115 countries and territories across the world.

Around 64,081 coronavirus infected people have so far recovered after receiving treatment suggested for the virus and been discharged from hospitals.

Dhaka/AI