China Reports Drop in Cases of Coronavirus Outbreak

The Coronavirus outbreak in China is seen stabilizingafter a dramatic drop in new cases although scientists reported the new virusmay spread even more easily than previously believed.

China's central Hubei province had 349 new confirmedcases on Wednesday, down from 1,693 a day earlier and lowest since January 25. Thedeath due to the novel Coronavirus rose by 108, down from 132 the previous day,bringing to total in China to over 2100 deaths and 74,000 cases.

After the new virus outbreak, China is struggling toget its economy back on track after imposing severe travel restrictions tocontain a virus that emerged in the central province of Hubei late last year.

According to reports, six people have died from thedisease beyond mainland China, and the governments around the world are tryingto prevent it from spreading into a global pandemic.

Moreover, hundreds of passengers trundled off a cruiseship in Japan on Wednesday after being held on board in quarantine for morethan two weeks, as criticism mounted of Japan's handling of the coronavirusoutbreak.

The Japanese authorities announced 79 new cases evenas passengers rolled their luggage off the Diamond Princess Cruise liner,bringing the total to at least 620.

The Diamond Princess has been quarantined near Tokyo since Feb. 3, initially with about 3,700 people aboard. The rapid spread of the disease onboard led to criticism of the Japanese authorities just months before Japan is due to host the Olympics.