Infection rate stabilizes, but WHO emphasizes unpredictability as coronavirus deaths surpass SARS

Makeshift hospital in Wuhan.
(Image credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images)

China announced Sunday that the death toll resulting from the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan has risen to 811, which is higher than the number of fatalities from the SARS epidemic between 2002 and 2003.

The number of confirmed infections rose to 37,198. The amount of new cases has stabilized in recent days, but the World Health Orgainzation continues to urge caution, and many doctors reportedly believe the number of deaths and infections have been undercounted because of the strain China's testing facilities are under. "It's very, very early to make predictions," said Dr. Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's health emergencies program.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.