New coronavirus cases in mainland China fall to lowest since January

Mainland China had 327 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Thursday, the country's National Health Commission said on Friday, down from 433 cases a day earlier and the lowest since Jan. 23.

That brings the total accumulated number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 78,824. China's central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, had 318 new confirmed cases, down from 409 cases a day earlier and the lowest since Jan. 24.

Excluding Hubei, mainland China reported just nine new cases on Thursday, down from 24 a day earlier. The provincial capital of Wuhan reported 313 confirmed cases, down from 383 a day earlier and the lowest since Jan. 26.

The death toll in mainland China reached 2,788 as of the end of Thursday, up by 44 from the previous day. Hubei reported 41 new deaths on Thursday, while in Wuhan, 28 people died.