15 coronavirus cases reported in United States

Health officials of U.S. reported a 15th confirmed case of coronavirus in the United States on Thursday as the White House criticized China’s response to the outbreak.

According to the sources, A patient who was among the Americans evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan – the epicenter of the outbreak – and placed under quarantine at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, became the latest U.S. case, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

The new coronavirus that began to grab national attention in mid-January has killed more than 1,300 people in mainland China. More than half of the provinces delayed the resumption of work from the first week of February by at least a week in an effort to keep people from interacting and spreading the virus.

In central China’s Hubei province, officials said 242 people died on Wednesday, the biggest daily rise since the virus emerged in Wuhan in December. That followed a forecast earlier this week by China’s senior medical adviser that the epidemic may end there by April.

“We’re a little disappointed in the lack of transparency coming from the Chinese, these numbers are jumping around. … There was some surprise,” top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters in Washington.

The sudden increase appeared to be largely due to a change in how Chinese officials were confirming cases. Hubei previously allowed infections to be confirmed only by a specific test that was in short supply. It has now begun identifying cases using more common lung scans.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits treating coronavirus patients

Earlier, Death toll from coronavirus jumped in China’s Hubei province on Thursday under a new method for diagnosing cases.

Health experts warned the epidemic could get worse before it gets better following Coronavirus fears.

Health officials in Hubei province said 242 people had died from the flu-like virus, the fastest rise in the daily count.

It brings the total number of deaths in the province to 1,310.

The previous record rise in the toll was 103 on February 10.

The grim new tally came a day after China had reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in two weeks.