Wuhan mayor expects 1,000 new cases of virus infection

Wuhan, the center of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, is likely to see about 1,000 new confirmed infections, the city's mayor said Sunday night.

The city has 2,209 suspected cases under treatment at medical institutions and 643 people under observation at out-patient clinics, according to Mayor Zhou Xianwang.

"Based on our calculation, 45 percent of them are likely to be confirmed of contracting the disease, thus increasing the number of confirmed cases by another 1,000," he said, adding that confirmation needs more time.

As of Saturday midnight, Wuhan had 618 confirmed infections, including 45 deaths, according to local government data.

Zhou said about 80 patients have been cured, but they must remain under close observation for 12 days and then can leave the hospital if everything goes well.

It shows that current treatment and technological research have yield good results, he said.