The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the globe is dramatically increasing after Chinese health officials broadened their methods for diagnosing the virus.
Almost 15,000 new cases of the virus – also known as COVID-19 — were reported Wednesday in Hubei province alone, which is the epicenter of the outbreak. That brings the total number of worldwide cases to more than 60,300. At least 1,370 people have died from the coronavirus.
Reuters reported officials in Hubei have started using CT scans to diagnose patients more quickly. They had previously only been using test kits to confirm the virus. But those can slow down treatment because they take several days to process.
Other countries are still solely relying on similar test kits to confirm the illness. At least 14 people in the U.S. have contracted the virus. The CDC said the latest patient was diagnosed while under a 14-day federal quarantine after returning from Wuhan, China.
A spokesperson for the World Health Organization told CNN that health officials can't estimate when containment might happen because they don't know enough about this specific coronavirus to make an accurate prediction.
Contains footage from CNN.
