Philippines reports first coronavirus death

PHILIPPINE: The Philippines reported the first death outside China on Sunday from the coronavirus that has now killed at least 304 people, infected thousands in China.

The 44-year-old man who died in the Philippines was from Wuhan, where the coronavirus is thought to have originated late last year.

The World Health Organization representative to the Philippine, Rabindra Abeyasinghe said “This is the first reported death outside China.

“However, we need to take into mind that this is not a locally-acquired case. This patient came from the epicentre of this outbreak,” Abeyasinghe added.

The man, who died in a Manila hospital, arrived in the Philippines with a 38-year-old Chinese woman who had also tested positive for the virus, health secretary Francisco Duque said.

The news of the man’s death was released shortly after the Philippines announced it would immediately halt the arrivals of any foreign travellers from China. The Philippine government has also told citizens not to travel to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

In China, the authorities announced earlier that the death toll had risen to 304 in the 24 hours until midnight on Saturday, with the new deaths all reported in the hard-hit central province of Hubei. Across China, there were 2,590 new confirmed infections, bringing the total so far to 14,380.