China allocates 8b yuan in fight against epidemic

China allocated 8 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) on Feb 14, the second batch of subsidies in the nationwide battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The funds were used to support the prevention and control work across the country, and 3.5 billion yuan was assigned to the hardest-hit Hubei province.

As of Feb 14, finance authorities at all levels had allocated 90.15 billion yuan, in which 25.29 billion was centrally financed.

By the end of Feb 14, the confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection on the Chinese mainland totaled 66,492, and 1,523 people had died of the disease, said the National Health Commission.