•  The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 28,018 by the end of February 5, a total of 563 people had died of novel coronavirus infection, and altogether 1,153 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.
• Clinical trials of the United States biotech company Gilead Sciences' experimental drug Remdesivir have begun in Wuhan.
• As of Wednesday midnight, Chongqing had reported a total of 389 confirmed cases with 32 severe cases, 11 critical cases, two deaths, and 15 discharged patients.

A mask-manufacturing company expands its production capacity. (Photo by Liu Hanshu)

Chongqing- As of 24:00 local time on February 5, Chongqing had reported a total of 389 confirmed cases due to novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, according to the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission Wednesday.

There are 32 severe cases, 11 critical cases, two deaths, and 15 discharged patients. A total of 11,700people who had close contacts with 2019-nCoV patients have been traced, 4,461 people have been released from medical observations, and 7,239 people are under medical observations.

According to Wednesday's press conference, the daily output of masks in Chongqing will be expanded to about 600,000. Chongqing also issued 20 measures on February 4 to support small- and medium-sized enterprises to overcome difficulties in fighting against the novel coronavirus. In addition, people need to be aware of the risk that the virus spreads through the fecal-oral route.

The special working group on medical supplies of the municipal leading group for epidemic prevention and control reported Wednesday on the current situation of mask supply and allocation in the municipality.

Since the resumed production on January 23, the city has produced 1,825,500 masks.  Up to now, all four local companies for medical masks have been producing continuously for 24 hours.  At present, two additional production lines have been added, and eight new mask machines have been purchased.  It is expected that through those efforts, the daily output of masks in Chongqing will be expanded to about 600,000.  As of Tuesday, the medical supply team has collected 4.538 million masks (including donations). Currently, there are 17.6086 million purchases in progress and yet to arrive.

The Chongqing Municipal Health Commission said that the epidemic situation now is severe and complex, and prevention and control are in a critical period.  In order to prevent and reduce the psychological damage caused by the epidemic, the municipal health authority led to establish an expert group for psychological crisis intervention, which provides psychological counseling and intervention for high-risk groups and educate mental health knowledge for the general public. Moreover, the 12320 health hotline provides 24-hour online services.

China’s National Health Commission said Thursday that the overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 28,018 by the end of Wednesday, noting that a total of 563 people had died of the disease and that altogether 1,153 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The registration for clinical trials on the antiviral drug Remdesivir has been approved, and the first batch of pneumonia patients infected by 2019-nCoV are expected to start taking the drug on Thursday, according to an official conference Wednesday.