Scientists expect Pangolin as Coronavirus virus host

The death toll from the novel coronavirus in China jumped to 636 on Friday, with 31,161 infected. Out of the total rise in the toll, central Hubei province - the epicentre of the outbreak - reported 69 deaths, including 64 in the provincial capital Wuhan. 

Across mainland China, there were 3,143 new confirmed infections. Authorities are fighting to stop it from spreading as millions travel for Chinese New Year, and scientists are trying to understand the virus, which has not been seen by humans before, and its effects. Experts say the virus, called 2019-nCoV can be spread from human to human.

Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, one of the eight whistle-blowers who warned other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by the police, died of the epidemic on Thursday.

Meanwhile, China vehemently denied a Taiwan media report that Beijing is under-reporting the death toll and infected cases from the virus outbreak.

"On late Saturday evening, the Tencent, which runs popular social media APP weChat showed confirmed cases of the Wuhan virus in China as standing at 154,023, ten times the official figure at the time...Most ominously, the death toll listed was 24,589, vastly higher than the 300 officially listed that day," the report claimed. _Agencies

Dhaka/AKA