KATHMANDU: As many as 97 people died in a single day due to coronavirus in China. This is the highest death toll from coronavirus in 24 hours so far. With this, the total number of deaths has reached 910.

China’s National Health Commission confirmed Sunday evening that the death toll in China is now 908. The global death toll is now 910, with one death in Hong Kong and the other in the Philippines.

The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases is more than 40,000, with the vast majority in mainland China.

With 91 more people dying in Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak, the toll is now higher than the 774 killed worldwide by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The epidemic has prompted the government to lock down whole cities as anger mounts over its handling of the crisis — especially after a whistleblowing doctor fell victim to the virus.

The latest data came after the WHO said the last four days had seen “some stabilizing” in Hubei, but warned the figures could still “shoot up”.

Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said the “stable period” of the outbreak “may reflect the impact of the control measures”.

A WHO “international expert mission” left late Sunday for China, the agency’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter. The mission is led by Bruce Aylward, a veteran of previous health emergencies.

(With inputs from Agencies)