• There are now more than 125,048 confirmed cases globally, and 4613 people have lost their lives, according to the COVID-2019 situation report on March 12 by the World Health Organization. Outside of China，there are 44,067 confirmed (6703 new) including 1440 deaths (310 new) in 117 countries/territories/ areas (4 new).

• WHO Director-General said on Thursday, "Describing this as a pandemic does not mean that countries should give up. On the contrary, we have to double down."

• The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 80,813 by the end of March 12. A total of 3,176 people had died of COVID-19, and altogether 64,111 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

• The virus is an enemy of all human beings as it knows no borders. China will work hand in hand with other countries and contribute our strength and wisdom to securing a final victory against the pandemic and to building a community with a shared future for humanity, according to the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

• As of the end of Thursday, Chongqing had reported a total of 576 confirmed cases, with six currently hospitalized without any severe case or critical case, six deaths, and 564 discharged patients. Thursday had no newly established case in Chongqing for the seventeenth consecutive day, and ten more patients recovered and released from the hospital.

• Chongqing has issued the Opinions of the General Office of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government on Accelerating the Development of Online Businesses Forms, Services, and Management.
• 96.46% of Chongqing's public hospitals and 92.22% of private hospitals have resumed daily medical services as of March 11.

Chongqing- As of 24:00 local time on March 12, Chongqing had reported six confirmed cases currently hospitalized without any severe case or critical case, six deaths,  and 564 discharged patients after recovery, according to the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission Friday. All those cases had totaled 576 confirmed cases infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of the end of Thursday in Chongqing.

Thursday had no newly confirmed case in Chongqing for the seventeenth consecutive day, and ten more patients recovered and released from the hospital. A total of 23,681 people who had close contacts with COVID-19 patients have been traced, 23,595 people have been released from medical observation, and 86 people are under medical observation.

According to Thursday's press conference on COVID-19 prevention and control in Chongqing, 96.46% of the municipality's public hospitals and 92.22% of private hospitals have resumed daily medical service as of March 11.

Restaurant workers are preparing hot pot for customers. (Photo by Xu Ju)

Chongqing to accelerate online business forms, services, and management

Chongqing has issued the Opinions of the General Office of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government on Accelerating the Development of Online Businesses Forms, Services, and Management. Under the impact of the epidemic, emerging industries such as intelligent manufacturing, unmanned distribution, online consumption, and health care have shown strong growth potential, and online business forms, services, and management have exploded too.

The online business is rapidly involved with multiple areas of production and life. For example, the industrial Internet, digital content, and new retail have shown strong development momentum.

The Opinions emphasizes the leading role of enterprises for key breakthrough and development of the online business form. Four key breakthrough directions have been proposed, namely Internet platforms for key industries, new retail, digital content industries, and digital financial services. Amid the epidemic outbreak, the corporate businesses of Internet platforms generally grew by more than 25%. Moreover, the number of users, such as online education, online medical care, telecommuting, and online consultation, has increased significantly.

Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce briefed on online business forms

Wang Jue, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, briefed on the relevant situation of online businesses in the municipality on Thursday. During the epidemic period, the online business format has the characteristics of non-contact transactions, separate distribution, or unnecessary distribution. It shows excellent development potential, playing an essential role in ensuring market supply, meeting people's living needs, and transforming and developing the enterprises.

The deputy director elaborated on four features of physical and service online sales in 2019. The first is rapid development. The market size and entities continue to grow. In 2019, Chongqing's online retail sales reached 120.16 billion yuan (about 17.2 billion USD), with a year-on-year increase of 25.2%. Moreover, there were nearly 727,000 various online entities, which increased by 16.1%. Second, business forms have continuously been diversified. Online businesses involving such as online shopping, education, medical care, recruitment services, and entertainment tours have accelerated to grow. The third is the deep integration of online and offline. Smart commercial circles such as Jiefangbei and Guanyinqiao have been gradually built up. Amid the epidemic outbreak, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce has promoted more than 80 hot pot companies to carry out "zero-touch" hot pot takeaway services. Fourth, the structure is optimized continuously.

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 80,813 by the end of Thursday, and 3,176 people had died of the disease, according to the National Health Commission Friday. A total of 64,111 people had been discharged from the hospital after recovery. By the end of Thursday, 131 confirmed cases, including three deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), ten confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 49 in Taiwan, including one death.

There are now more than 125,048 confirmed cases globally, and 4613 people have lost their lives, according to the COVID-2019 situation report on March 12 by the World Health Organization. Outside of China，there are 44,067 confirmed (6703 new) including 1440 deaths (310 new) in 117 countries/territories/ areas (4 new).

At the media briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Describing this as a epidemic does not mean that countries should give up." In his opinion, the idea that countries should shift from containment to mitigation is wrong and dangerous. "On the contrary, we have to double down," added the WHO chief.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "Virus is an enemy of all human beings as it knows no borders. China will work hand in hand with other countries and contribute our strength and wisdom to securing a final victory against the epidemic and to building a community with a shared future for humanity."