Mainland China reports 508 new cases of coronavirus on February 24, deaths up by 71

Mainland China reports 508 new cases of coronavirus on February 24, deaths up by 71

Volunteers in protective suits disinfect a residential compound in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hubei province, China February 22, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS

BEIJING (Reuters) - Mainland China had 508 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Monday, the country's National Health Commission said on Tuesday, up from 409 cases a day earlier.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 77,658.

The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,663 as of the end of Monday, up by 71 from the previous day.

The central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, reported 68 new deaths, while in the provincial capital of Wuhan, 56 people died.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo, Yilei Sun and Lusha Zhang; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)