China's top Communist Party investigators are looking into "relevant issues raised by the public" about a whistleblower doctor who was threatened by police after publicizing his concerns about the new virus and has now died from it. The party's announcement Friday came as the death toll in mainland China rose to at least 636. The outbreak has now infected more than 31,200 people worldwide.
Cruise ship passengers faced more woe as Japan reported 41 new cases on a quarantined ship and turned away another.
President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with President Donald Trump, who said the U.S. was working closely with China to help. Xi urged the U.S. to "respond reasonably" to the outbreak, echoing complaints that some countries are overreacting by restricting Chinese travelers. Those complaints come even while China keeps around 50 million residents of the hardest-hit city of Wuhan and surrounding areas under indefinite quarantine.
